• • Lo~ghb.orough .UmverSlty Pilkington Library Author/Filing Title .................~.~.~~ .. ".. .. ~..•................•.......• .................................................................................................. Accession/Copy No. ,. Vol. No ................ Class M ark .....••.....•.....•......•.•...••.......•..•... : j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j J DEVELOPING NEW COMMUNITIES THE PROGRESS OF THREE PRIVATE SECTOR NEW SETTLEMENTS 1960-1993 by Christopher Owen A Masters Thesis Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy of Loughborough University June 1998 © by Christopher R. Owen 1998 Cla.~ !----*-_.... '... "" ....., ........ _--.. Ace No. Cl-{ c V\. '1 /l.. '2- ~ lA. ~ 4-(sl{ '"6 Declaration This is to certifY that I am responsible for the work submitted in this thesis, that the original work is my own except as specified in acknowledgements or in footnotes, and that neither the thesis nor the original work contained therein has been submitted to this or any other institution for a higher degree. "-' - ..... , ." Acknowledgements I must first thank those in the Geography Department at Loughborough University who have persevered with my attempts at research over the past few years. Specific thanks must go to John Herington, who encouraged my interest in planning and new settlements, and supervised me with such unflagging enthusiasm throughout my time at the university. Particular thanks must also be extended to Morag Bell, who not only provided considerable support throughout my time at Loughborough, both as an undergraduate and as a postgraduate, but picked up the baton of supervision and encouraged me to complete the job. My thanks must also go to Jon Beaverstock, who took on the considerable task of trying to maintain my enthusiasm after referral, and to my external examiner, A1an Hooper, whose understanding and enthusiasm for the core of my research has been invaluable. My time at Loughborough as an undergraduate inspired me to continue my studies, and much of the credit for this must also go to Denis Cosgrove, who taught me a great deal about how to think, and how to conduct the study of geography. On a more personal note, I have many people to thank for their support over the years I have been working on this thesis, and who have understood both the time it took away from other parts of my life, and the effort it required to complete it. My parents and family have been a tremendous source of love, encouragement and support, and have never let me down. Also my thanks to all my friends - they know who they are, and how much their love and support has meant. Special thanks must go to Sharon, for being there when it was really difficult, for putting up with coming second behind this thesis, and in the end, for putting things into context. Finally, I should extend my thanks to the people of the three sites studied, and for all the other individuals and organisations who offered their help, time and hospitality. I have many good memories of many fine, generous and genuine people. I hope that if they were to have a chance to read this, they would feel that I have presented them fairly and accurately, even if they might disagree with my interpretations and conclusions. i Contents . Abstract 1 1. Introduction 1-30 Defining new settlements 1 The new settlements movement 4 A wider theoretical context 17 The city and the country 18 Place and community 25 Structure and content of the thesis 29 2. A History of Ideas and Philosophies from Garden Cities to New Settlements 31-63 Introduction 31 Ebenezer Howard 33 Unwin and Parker 38 P.J.Osbom 41 Key Themes of the Garden Cities Movement 42 Post-war idealism: socialism and the state 48 Learning from experience - social planning in New Towns 52 The thread of ideas 57 Conclusions 62 3. Methodology 64-89 Introduction 64 The Role of Methodology 64 The Case Study 65 The use of interviews in qualitative research 67 The Selection ofInterview Respondents 68 The Mode ofInterviewing; The Role of the Interviewer 72 Documentary Sources 74 Corrigibility and Triangulation 77 Research Ethics 80 The selection of sites for case study 82 Research Issues 86 4. Quantitative Indicators 90-117 Introduction 90 Growth (housing completions) 90 Population age structures - early years of construction 94 Population age structures - fifteen to sixteen years from building start 100 Population age structures - twenty-six years from building start 104 Comparison with regional and sub-regional population structures III Other sodo-economic indicators 114 Conclusions 116 5. East Goscote 118-155 Introduction 118 Site history 119 Planning 126 Building 137 Social organisation 145 Catchment areas and circulation patterns 147 An ageing population 151 Defining village life 153 6. Bar Hill 156-198 Introduction 156 Policy background 157 The rationale for new settlements 159 The new settlements solution 160 Theoretical assumptions 161 The design and detailed planning ofBar Hill 165 The Early Years of Development - 1963 to 1968 170 1968-1975; the wilderness years? 173 The village centre 178 Development outside the perimeter road 179 The flyover junction 181 Local organisations 185 Establishment and Completion - 1975 to the present 194 7. Martlesham Heath 199-225 Introduction 199 The location of Martlesham Heath 199 Site history 200 Planning History 202 The layout of Martle sham Heath 208 The roots of the Martlesham Heath concept 209 Bradford Property Trust 211 Community Management Structures 215 The role of the Parish Council, and its relationship with MCL 218 The Social Construction of Mart le sham Heath 220 Selling Martlesharn Heath 224 8. Synthesis 226-266 Introduction 226 A Temporal Context 227 The New Settlements Movement 228 Groups and Individuals 232 The Historical Context of New Settlements 233 The Genesis of the Three New Settlements 235 The Individuality of the Three New Settlements 236 Common Parameters 238 Self-Containment 239 Social diversity and differentiation 242 Defining place in new settlements 245 The Attraction of New Settlements 248 Design 255 Initiative, Philosophy, Approach 259 Social Structures and the Issue of Land Ownership 262 9. Conclusions 267-273 References 274-294 Annex: Illustrations 295-315 Tables, Figures & Illustrations Tables Table 1.1 New settlement proposals and applications by year 13 Table 3.1 Potential new settlement study sites 82 Table 3.2 Key facts about the three case study sites 86 Table 4. I Population age group figures (number and %) for East Goscote (1971) and Martlesham Heath (1981) 97 Table 4.2 Population age group figures (number and %) for Bar Hill (1981), East Goscote (1981) and Martlesham Heath (1991) 102 Table 4.3 Population age group figures (number and %) for Bar Hill (1991) and East Goscote (1991) 108 Table 4.4 A range of socio-economic indicators for the three villages 115 Table 8.1 Key features of Garden Cities, New Towns and New Settlements compared follows 266 Figures Figure 4.1 Forecast and actual housing completion rates for East Goscote, Bar Hill and Martlesham Heath 91 Figure 4.2 Population age structure - East Goscote, 1971 (five years from building start) 95 Figure 4.3 Population age structure - Martlesham Heath, 1981 (six years from building start) 96 Figure 4.4 Age group structure of persons migrant in the previous year - Martlesham Heath, 1981 99 Figure 4.5 Population age structure - Bar Hill, 1981 (sixteen years from building start) 100 Figure 4.6 Population age structure - East Goscote, 1981 (fifteen years after building start, three years after substantive completion) 101 Figure 4.7 Population age structure - Martlesham Heath, 1991 (sixteen years after building start) 101 Figure 4.8 Population age structure - Bar Hill, 1991 (twenty-six from building start) 105 Figure 4.9 Population age structure - East Goscote, 1991 (twenty-six years from building start, thirteen years from substantive completion) 106 Figure 4.10 Change in population by age group - East Goscote 1981-1991 109 Figure 4.11 Population structure by age group, 1981 Census - East Goscote compared with Charnwood District, the County of Leicestershire, and the East Midlands Planning Region (% of total population) 111 Figure 4.12 Population structure by age group, 1981 Census - Bar Hill compared with South Cambridgeshire District, the County of Cambridgeshire, and the East Anglian Planning Region (% of total population) 112 Figure 4.13 Population structure by age group, 1981 Census - Martlesham Heath compared with Suffolk Coastal District, the County of Suffolk, and the East Anglian Planning Region (% of total population) 113 Figure 4.14 Population structure by age group, 1991 Census - East Goscote compared with Charnwood District, the County of Leicestershire, and the East Midlands Planning Region (% of total population) 113 Illustrations (in Annex) East Goscote I. The parade of shops at East Goscote 296 2. Detached garage block 296 3. Housing on the edge of the village 297 4. Remnants of the Radburn layout, near the centre of the village 297 5. Village green, with Ling Dale Lodge behind 298 6. Sketch plan of the shopping mall, from the original architects' drawings 298 7. Detached houses towards the centre of the village 299 8. Sketch of similar detached houses from the original architects' drawings 299 9. Sketch of housing at the entrance to the village from the original architects' drawings 300 10. Aerial photograph of the ordnance depot which existed on the site prior to redevelopment, circa 1961 300 11. Sketch plan of site from the original planning application, as reproduced in the local press, late in 1962 301 Bar Hill 12. Early housing built around a small grassed 'courtyard' 302 13. Streetscape, showing housing built in the early 1980s 302 14. Some of the last housing to be built, completed in the early 1990s 303 15.