/a«»«n, TOWN PLANNING AND 18th December, 1944. VALUATION COMMITTEE Present : Councillor Priestley (in the Chair), Councillors Brown, C.C., committee. Beacham, Carter, Charles, J.P., Coles, Daniels, J.P., Ellement and Gange. PART I.—RECOMMENDATIONS. RECOMMENDATION I-Town and Country Planning Acts, 1932 : Proposed Formation of Executive Joint Town Planning Committees for Middlesex. Your Committee reported at length on this matter to the Council on 22nd July, 1944. The Council at that meeting (by Council resolution 2919) approved, in principle, the setting up of executive joint town planning committees in Middlesex in accordance with the suggestion which had been made by the Ministry of Town and Country Planning. The Ministry indicated that it would be appropriate to form three such joint committees in the County, one of these to be called the " West Middlesex Executive Joint Planning Committee" and to be appointed by the Borough Councils of Hendon, Wembley and Willesden and the Urban District Councils of Harrow, Ruislip-Northwood and Uxbridge. By the same resolution the Council authorised your Committee to appoint representatives to discuss generally, with representatives of the five other local authorities concerned, matters relating to the formation and constitution of the new West Middlesex executive joint committee, which was then being suggested by the Ministry of Town and Country Planning. The final paragraph of the recommendation adopted by the Council on 22nd July, 1944, contains an instruction to your Committee to report further, with appropriate recommendations, when a decision upon the proposals of the Ministry of Town and Country Planning had been arrived at. A conference was held in Harrow on 18th October, 1944, at which there were present representatives of the six local authorities mentioned above. This conference was, however, adjourned as it was understood that the special sub-committees appointed by the existing North and West Middlesex joint town planning committees were about to issue reports which were likely to contain agreed conditions of dele­ gation by constituent authorities to such joint executive committees as might be appointed. These reports have now been issued and con­ sidered by the existing North and West Middlesex Committees re­ spectively. Shortly, both committees find themselves in favour of the formation of two joint committees for the County, rather than of three as originally suggested by the Ministry of Town and Country Planning, with the Edgware Road as the dividing line. So far as the North Middlesex Committee are concerned, it is also proposed, as foreshadowed in the previous report of your Committee, to extend the area to be covered by the inclusion of the following Hertfordshire county districts, viz.: Barnet, East Barnet and Cheshunt. It is left to Harrow, Hendon and Wembley to remain with the reconstituted North Middlesex Committee at their discretion. It may be mentioned that, although Hendon propose to remain with the North Middlesex Committee, Wembley and Willesden are believed to be in favour of the Ministry's original proposal for three joint committees for the Count}'. Your Committee, also, continue strong in their conviction that three joint executive committees for Middlesex are desirable. 333 It is understood that the representatives of Ruislip-Xorthvvood w* •January, Urban District Council, at the meeting of the existing West Middlesex L94i Joint Committee held on 15th December, 1944, expressed a preference ^dvalfwtiol for the three joint committees ; the position of Uxbridge is still in doubt committee. but your Committee are hopeful that that authority will be prepared to adhere to the proposal to join the proposed third joint planning area. In view of the progress which has thus been made in the matter, your Committee feel that the time is now ripe for the Council to pass a formal resolution, in terms appearing below, agreeing to the setting up of an executive joint town planning committee to comprise the Boroughs of Wembley and Willesden and the Urban Districts of Harrow, Ruislip- Northwood and Uxbridge, or so many of them as may pass a similar resolution. It is suggested that each constituent authority should appoint two representatives, as also would Middlesex County Council, and it will be seen that your Committee recommend two of their number to be so appointed for the remainder of the present Council year. If in fact the four other authorities do not all pass the resolution referred to above, it will be necessary for your Committee to reconsider the matter and to report further to the Council in due course. It will be noticed that the important question of the conditions of delegation to be approved by each of the constituent authorities is for the moment left unresolved, and that it is proposed that the Council's representatives should be instructed to discuss this matter with the representatives appointed by the other local authorities concerned, so that your Committee may be in a position to submit a recommendation thereon at a later date. There is one further matter to which reference may be made. On the assumption that two Committees only would be constituted for Middlesex, the present North and West joint town planning committees are suggesting that the present titles of " North " and " West " Middlesex should be retained. The Ministry of Town and Country Planning, in their original suggestions, named the committees respectively as the " North," " West " and " South " Middlesex joint executive town planning committees ; the last mentioned being, broadly speaking, the area of the present " West " committee. It may be necessary at a later da,te to alter the title " West Middlesex joint executive town planning committee," which appears in the recommendation below, although, on the other hand, it may be that representations can be made to the existing West Middlesex Committee (if the formation of three joint planning districts is finally accomplished) to adopt the Minister's suggestion in relation to nomenclature and to rename themselves the South Middlesex Executive Joint Town Planning Committee. Resolved to RECOMMEND : That a resolution in the following terms be passed by the Council : (1) That, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1932, and subject to the approval at a later date of conditions of delegation, the Council hereby concur with the Councils of the County of Middlesex, the Municipal Boroughs of Wembley and Willesden, and the Urban Districts of Ruislip-Northwood and Uxbridge (or so many of them as may pass the necessary resolutions), in 'the appointment of a Joint Planning Committee for those areas, to be called the West 334 \3tk January, Middlesex Joint Planning Committee, and in delegating to 1945. such Joint Planning Committee their powers and imposing Town Planning and Valuation on them their duties in connection with the preparation of a Committee. scheme or schemes, including, if necessary, the varying of existing schemes, or preparation of schemes supplementary thereto. (2) (a) That two members of the Council be appointed to be members of the Joint Planning Committee under section 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1932, until the annual meeting of the Council in April, 1945, so long as they shall respectively be and remain members of the Council, subject to the right of the Council to appoint another member or members to fill a vacancy or vacancies occurring either by death, resignation or otherwise, and that, thereafter, the Council do appoint two members of the Joint Planning Committee to serve for periods of three years at a time, subject to the same provisoes and to the right of the Council to reappoint any existing member ; (b) That, in accordance with the foregoing resolution, the following members of the Council be hereby appointed to be the first members of the Joint Planning Committee, namely, Councilors Beacham and Priestley ; (c) That the representatives hereby appointed be hereby instructed to discuss with the representatives appointed by such other local authorities as pass a resolution in the terms of paragraph (1) hereof the question of delegation of powers thereto, and to report thereon in due course to the Town Planning and Valuation Committee, so that such Committee may, at the appropriate time, make a further recommendation to the Council thereon. (3) That the Council hereby agree to contribute annually their proportion of the reasonable expenses of the Joint Committee, based on the respective rateable values on the 1st day of April in each year, of the Districts of the con­ stituent Councils (other than the County Council). PART II.- MINUTES. The following resolutions were passed :— 218. Minutes : That the minutes of the last meeting, having been circulated, be confirmed and signed. TOWN PLANNING AND BYELAW MATTERS. 219. Town and Country Planning Circular 9 : That Town and Country Planning Circular 9 (28th November, 1944), be received. 220. National Housing and Town Planning Conference : That Councillor Priestley be appointed a representative of the Council to attend the conference to be held in London on 1st and 2nd March, 1945. 335 221. Town and Country Planning Act, 1944 : That the Committee \m January, receive the report of the Clerk of the Council, dated 12th December, —' 1944, relating to the powers conferred upon the Council by section j^^Jf^tki 16 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1911. committee. 222. Greater London Plan, 1944 : That the Committee receive the report of the Clerk of the Council, dated 12th December, 1944, relating to Professor Abercrombie's outline plan for Greater London. 223. Sites for Temporary Houses : That, arising out of Councr resolution 2946 (30th September, 1914), the Committee approve the erection of temporary houses upon sites Nos. 1, 2 and 3, re­ spectively, referred to therein. 224. Alteration of Plan Number : That the number of the plan submitted by Middlesex Education Committee and passed by the Committee at their meeting on 9th October, 1944, be amended from 2003 to 2003A.