Towards the end of the First World War a group known as the New Townsmen is established. At its helm are Ebenezer Howard and Frederic Osborn.  The New Townsmen’s purpose is to lobby government to build 100 new towns.  Osborn is young and tenacious, by contrast Howard is in his twilight years and has been fighting for government to adopt his ideas for over two decades.  A disillusioned Howard is quoted as saying that Osborn will be ‘as old as Methuselah’ waiting for a positive government response.

Architects Parker and Unwin also have a role to play in the early stages of the establishment of new towns.  Having had a great deal of involvement in both the Model Village Movement with their work at New Earswick and the Garden City Movement for which they designed Letchworth, the partnership are tasked with the creation of Hampstead Garden Suburb which is commenced in 1907.  After this venture the partnership is dissolved, Parker becomes an advisor on town planning internationally, notably Sao Paulo, Brazil and Porto, Portugal.  However, his main focus is his involvement with Manchester City Council and the development and promotion of the Garden City/Suburb of Wythenshawe from 1927 until his death in 1941.  Unwin too continues to have an influential role in the world of town planning, from 1917-1919 he is involved with the Tudor Walters Committee on the planning of working class housing, which, in turn, brings about the Housing and Town Planning Act of 1919.  His work with the committee, coupled with his role from 1919 as Chief Architect at the Ministry of Health, ensures that government built houses, during the interwar years, are constructed to a satisfactory standard, are spacious and have ample gardens.  During his time with the Tudor Walters Committee and later the greater London Regional Planning Committee, Unwin departs from the traditional ideals of Garden Cities and instead promotes the idea of peripheral satellite towns around, and reliant upon, a dominant city.

Despite Parker and Unwin’s attempts to progress the idea of New Towns, the government seem preoccupied with building huge suburbs around increasingly swollen cities.  Ironically, the popularity of suburbs may be partly due to the fact that Parker and Unwin have created the beautiful Hampstead Garden Suburb.

Urban growth continues unchecked until 1938 when the newly elected Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain creates the Barlow Royal Commission.  The commission is concerned with the urban concentration of population and industry; these are issues which Chamberlain has addressed since chairing The Committee on Unhealthy Areas in the early 1920s. The Barlow Commission is the result of Chamberlain’s commitment to the cause, combined with parliamentary recommendations that the creation of New Towns should be strongly influenced by Garden Cities and that inner city industry should be relocated to Garden Cities.  The Barlow Commission itself is the first admission by government that large towns are not conducive to public well-being and ‘planned decentralisation’ should be undertaken.

Initially, the success of The Barlow Commission is overshadowed by the outbreak of the Second World War.  However, in 1942 the Ministry of Works and Planning, the first central planning authority, is created and decentralisation of population and industry, as outlined in the Barlow Report, is announced as the direction for future planning.  The recommendations of the report are further implemented after the war when the question of rebuilding becomes particularly prevalent.  Essentially, the Barlow Report is the only plan which exists for the restoration of the, now decimated, United Kingdom.

Despite the devastation resulting from the bombing of Britain during the Second World War, an opportunity is presented.  Cities can now be rebuilt at more desirable densities; in addition the displaced population and industry can be re-established in New Towns.

The 1945 general election proves to be a landslide victory for the Labour Party, bringing Clement Atlee to the fore as Prime Minister.  Atlee deems that the responsibility of housing lies with the Minister of Health, the young Aneurin Bevan.  Bevan is not only tasked with the huge undertaking of planning the rebuilding of Britain, he is also at the healm of another new government initiative, the National Health Service.  Despite Bevan’s focus on the NHS, as the more critical of his assignments, initiation of a rebuilding programme is swift.  The newly appointed Minister of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin, working alongside Bevan, appoints a New Towns Committee chaired by Lord Reith (formerly Director General of the BBC) which considers how best to rebuild and repair urban areas.  In under a year the committee concludes that New Towns are the favoured course of action.  The findings of the committee are highly influential and have a direct effect in government, bringing about the monumental New Towns Act of 1946.  The act allows Government to designate areas as new towns and to create Development Corporations which are empowered with developmental control.  In 1947 the Town and Country Planning act is passed, cementing the ideas of the New Towns act.  In addition, the act gives local authorities the power to designate greenbelts around their communities, containing urban sprawl and protecting the rural environment.  Greenbelts are an idea popularised by the Garden City Movement, now realised some fifty years after Ebenezer Howard’s recommendation.

The New Towns Act of 1946 is the move by government which Ebenezer Howard had hoped for since he established the Garden City Movement; sadly it comes almost two decades after his death.  Howard’s natural successor, Frederic Osborn, has been tirelessly lobbying and working in the shadows to promote the New Town Movement and lives to see his labours come to fruition.  Despite endless government committees and parliamentary discussion regarding New Towns, it should not be overlooked that had Osborne not so diligently stood by his belief that New Towns are the best course of action for the country, the wealth of planning knowledge from the Garden City era may have been forgotten.

Ten New Towns are designated before 1950, including the ‘re-branded’ Welwyn Garden City.  This is considered to be the first wave of New Towns, they include: Crawley, Sussex; Peterlee, County Durham and Bracknell, Berkshire.  The second wave begins with Skelmersdale, Lancashire in 1961, one of five New Towns designated up to 1964.

In the haste to realise the first two waves of New Towns after the war, the future had been considered on entirely too small a scale.  By the mid 1960s Stevenage, the first New Town to be designated is bursting at the seams and attempts to extend the town prove unsuccessful.  Runcorn, a New Town of the second phase, is struggling to cope with its 100,000 residents on a meagre 7,234 acre site.

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Faced with a population explosion, a third wave of New Towns is contemplated.  The post war years see the baby boom era and by the mid 1960s the population is growing as never before.  Forecasts indicate that the population is set to increase by 20 million by the year 2000, with the epicentre of growth being London.  Therefore, an inquiry is held in to the suitability of North Buckinghamshire as the location of a New Town, an overspill for the ever-swelling London.

After months of speculation, on January 13th 1966, a press briefing is held by Richard Crossman MP, Minister of Housing and Local Government in Harold Wilson’s Labour Government.  Crossman confirms a new city will be built in North Buckinghamshire, equidistant between London and Birmingham.  The city will cover 21,850 acres, encompassing the existing towns of Bletchley, Stony Stratford and Wolverton and will be home to 60,000 to 70,000 new residents within ten years.  The population forecast of the town when complete and mature is 250,000.  The development is called Milton Keynes and it is the jewel in the crown of the New Town movement.

Despite the popular myth that Milton Keynes is named after Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes, two of the twentieth century’s foremost economists, this is not the case.  The New Town is, in fact, named after the village of Milton Keynes which exists within the designated area.

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The triangle of towns of Bletchley, Wolverton and Stony Stratford which sits within the boundaries of the newly designated Milton Keynes have, for centuries, been involved in industrial development. Circa AD 50 the Roman legions set up camp in the area whilst building Watling Street between London and Chester.  The Grand Junction Canal is built between 1793 and 1805 and crosses the River Ouze at Wolverton.  The canal transforms North Bucks, barges using the canal bring with them trade and industry.  Perhaps the most important development in the area prior to the designation of Milton Keynes arrives in the form of the London & Birmingham Railway.  The L&B choose Wolverton as the location of its central engine repair works in 1836.  Over the following years hundreds of railwaymen’s terraced houses, are erected as the population of the area increases.  The repair works then expand to incorporate engine design, noted for the creation of the iconic McConnell’s ‘bloomer’ engines which expands the workforce.  Additional industries spring up to facilitate the railway; these include a thriving printing business supplying train timetables, as well as all manner of businesses providing amenities for the swelling population.  Wolverton transforms in to a prosperous Victorian town.  Bletchley also benefits from the railway industry, the local station becomes a junction in the mid 1800s when lines are opened to Oxford, Bedford and Cambridge.

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The North Bucks triangle continues to prosper although the pace of growth slows from the 1920s.  Prior to World War Two a report is commissioned by the county council which identifies Bletchley as a suitable location for development. The county council then commission Sir Patrick Abercrombie to prepare a plan for a city based in Wolverton, a plan which would increase the population by 30,000.  The plan is prepared during World War Two and is delayed until the end of hostilities.  It is in 1945 that the Wolverton councillors, inspired by the ideas of Sir Patrick Abercrombie, commission Geoffrey Jelicoe to prepare a city plan.  When the plans are published, there is public uproar.  Jelicoe, a futurist and a devotee of Le Corbusier, has created an incarnation of Wolverton consisting of huge tower blocks set in ‘Gay and spacious gardens’, reminiscent of Le Corbusier's ‘Ville Radieuse’.  Understandably the overenthusiastic plan proves too daunting for the relatively small town.  Instead, Wolverton Council opt to build a district of prefab buildings.

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Poor planning decisions such as the construction of the prefab district at New Bradwell, Wolverton, blight the towns of North Bucks throughout the post war years.

The designation of Milton Keynes is a development nearly a decade in the making.  It is a concept which dates back to 1959, when Fred Pooley, Chief Architect and Planning Officer for Buckinghamshire, hatches a plan.  The county plan is up for review and with South Buckinghamshire at the mercy of the anti-development activists; expansion in North Bucks is once again on the agenda.  Inspired by the newly opened M1 running through the region, Pooley draws up a plan for a city of 250,000 people between Bletchley and Wolverton.  This plan is the first solid step towards the designation of Milton Keynes.

The Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) is established on January 23rd 1967 and is chaired by Lord Jock Campbell.  Fred Pooley holds the post of Master Planner.  However, Campbell’s primary move is the appointment of Richard Llewelyn-Davies to replace Pooley.

Llewelyn-Davies leads a team of planners, among which is Derek Walker, a young architect who is appointed Chief Architect and Planner.  It is this youthful and ambitious team who produce the Master Plan for Milton Keynes.

Derek Walker is both a brilliant publicist and designer; it falls on him to sell Milton Keynes to Great Britain.  The multi-faceted advertising campaign for Milton Keynes features an exhibition, organised by Walker, at the Design Centre on Haymarket, London.  The exhibition sets the trend for the MKDC advertising onslaught; it promotes a modern city full of opportunity but highlights the connection to nature and history.  Advertising campaigns are aimed at investors, business owners who may relocate and people looking for a new place to live.  Milton Keynes is heavily discussed in architectural publications and is the first word on the lips of most in the design world.  MKDC endeavours to tempt potential residents with fictional case studies of families moving from the inner city to a better life in Milton Keynes, images show sweeping forest lined highways and drawings of the New Town.  Derek Walker is doing a fantastic job of promoting something which does not yet exist.

In 1970 Jock Campbell appoints Fred Lloyd Roche as Chief Executive.  Roche has a solid background in planning, having held the position of Chief Architect and Planning Officer at Runcorn New Town.  Walker and Roche are a formidable team and are familiar with one and other since Walker was a consultant at Runcorn.

Fred Pooley describes Roche as ‘a political animal – an operator’.  This is confirmed by Roche’s Machiavellian methods, which include taking housing schemes to Whitehall on Christmas Eve and refusing to leave until they had been approved.

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The primary decision, on which all other development plans rest, is what will be the principal form of transport in the new town?  Fred Pooley imagines a monorail city in his early plans of the town, with a town centre on multiple levels incorporating monorail, road and pedestrian walkways.  Although the monorail city proves popular among the planners and, for a time, seems to be the direction the project is taking (a one million pound per mile monorail system, designed by French firm Safege, is considered), it is, ultimately, financially flawed.  As a result, a bus system is agreed to be the preferred method of public transport and since ownership of the motor car is becoming a reality for more and more people, a system geared towards road bound vehicles is settled upon.  A grid road system of ten horizontal and eleven vertical roads, with roundabouts at each intersection is decided upon. The horizontal roads are given names ending in 'way' and vertical roads are given names ending in 'street'.  Each grid road is spaced roughly one kilometre along from the next, forming spaces of approximately one square kilometre containing residential and commercial areas.  Though laid out in a grid pattern, Milton Keynes lacks the rigidity in design typical of its American inspiration.  The grid, instead, follows the lay of the land and has an altogether more organic look.

Derek Walker has a vision of a city “greener than the surrounding countryside”, he nicknames Milton Keynes the Forest City.  After much debate, 20% of the designated area is allocated to a city-wide parkland system.  In addition, it is written in to the master plan that no building would be taller than the tallest tree.

The young and ambitious team begin the task of designing the city-wide infrastructure and landscaping policies, the structuring and master planning of the city centre and six central area housing grid squares.  The pace of this audacious plan is set at 3000 houses a year with support services and amenities.

The design partnership of Derek Walker and Fred Roche ensures that Milton Keynes becomes a place of pilgrimage for architects.  Walker himself puts the pull factor down to something else, ‘if a place generated good design, you would attract good designers’.  In the melting pot of talent taking place at MKDC a rivalry between architects and planners, two gifted and vivacious groups of professionals, emerges.  Ultimately, the architects, known within the Development Corporation as the undertakers for their love of black suits, are given free reign.  Each is given a one square kilometre city grid as a blank canvas, without the usual hindrance of a client to answer to.  Essentially, they can write their own brief.

The word from Whitehall is that half of the town should be social housing and half privately owned, Jock Campbell insists on total social housing.  His hopes will ultimately end in disappointment.

The direction of the young design team reflect these socialist principles.  The ‘modern’ designs follow the same minimalist philosophy as the 19th century vernacular style favoured by Letchworth Garden City’s planners, Parker and Unwin.  However, the ideas surrounding social housing have moved on since this time and the designs emerging from Milton Keynes can be directly linked to one event;  The Worker Housing Exhibition of 1927.  The exhibition, held in Stuttgart, Germany displays radical implementations of minimalistic social housing, shunning any characteristic which detracts from the practicality of the design.  Among the exhibition’s creators is the famed urban planner and Brutalist architect, Le Corbusier known for his high density Ville Radieuse and the popularisation of tower blocks.  The modern design principles inherited from this influential period in planning are the framework and foundation for the communities being built in Milton Keynes.

The first three communities to be completed are named ‘Netherfield’, ‘Coffee Hall’ and Beanhill’.  The final result differs somewhat from the aspirations of the young design team.  The primary reason for the, arguably, substandard result is due to the compulsory implementation of Parker Morris standards to all New Town housing.  The Parker Morris committee of 1961 make a number of conclusions regarding space allocation and design layout in public housing.  These recommendations are made mandatory in 1967.  With Milton Keynes being funded by a cash strapped government (in 1973 the British government are forced to appeal to the IMF for financial aid), adherence to these design rules has a detrimental effect on quality.  In addition, the construction of these first three communities coincides with a strike by brick manufacturers.  As a consequence, Netherfield and Beanhill are constructed in timber and sheet metal cladding and Coffee Hall, intended to be brick built, is constructed using concrete blocks.

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The planners, fully cognisant of the shortcomings of these early sites, are determined to prevent a repeat performance.   Further communities prove to be far more successful and benefit from being constructed in times of reduced austerity.  Eaglestone, unlike the highly regimented terraced layout of the early communities, is designed to mimic the whimsical arrangement of a traditional fishing village.  Great Linford, divided in to twenty sites, each given over to a different architect, is a triumph, as is Neath Hill, arranged in mews around a village green.

It is a fundamental goal of MKDC to ensure that those who choose to live in Milton Keynes do not suffer from new town blues.  New residents face unavoidable difficulties resulting from the lack of infrastructure, however, the expeditious nature of the Milton Keynes building plan ensures these woes are short lived.  It is noted by MKDC that those moving to a New Town are motivated by higher aspirations and expectations, finding themselves in an unfinished town would cause anxiety and frustration.  MKDC attempt to remedy this problem by implementing a social development programme, arrivals workers visit newcomers to discuss difficulties and answer questions, in addition every new household is given a tree voucher redeemable at the local garden centre.  The programme is intended to give residents the feeling of belonging and that they are cared for.  Ultimately, the largest contribution to new town blues is an issue which cannot be solved, residents’ lack of money.  MKDC’s socialist principles ensure that newcomers are working class to lower middle class, a group for whom finances are an everyday worry.

Despite MKDC’s primary concern being the development of residential areas and the infrastructure which serves them, a key component to a functioning community is jobs.  Derek Walker is well aware of the importance of attracting industry and commerce to Milton Keynes, his marketing campaigns have been aimed at these sectors.  He knows that residents need jobs and that employment opportunities are reliant upon companies making Milton Keynes their home, in addition, with new companies come new residents.  The first new company to settle in

Milton Keynes is The Open University in 1969, soon after the New Town is designated.  In the following years an abundance of industrial and commercial outfits make the town their home, attracted by its modernity, excellent location, transport links and scope for expansion.

Milton Keynes differs from most towns and cities since it is built back to front.  Traditionally a city centre next to a natural or man-made transport link, e.g. a river or railway, would be the nucleus from which the settlement grows.  Milton Keynes, however, is built from the outskirts in.  Residents are forced to wait until 1979 for the Central Milton Keynes complex to open.

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The city centre is conceived as an area similar in length to London’s Oxford Street, with lines of shops and offices separating pedestrian squares from parking to either side.

Walker, alongside Stuart Mosscrop and Christopher Woodward, set the shops in a naturally lit indoor mall.  The deisigners take their inspiration from 19th century shopping gallerias, their intention is to create a naturally light and spacious environment in glass and steel.  The mall is given a name clearly proclaiming its function: The Shopping Building.  It is a marked departure from the much cloned Victor Gruen inspired ‘American style’ mall, typically oppressive and artificially lit, which have appeared in Britain since the early seventies.  The building is a winning combination of elegance and function, a magnificent ‘crystal palace’ of which the resident’s of Milton Keynes can be proud.

In 1985 an exciting new addition to Central Milton Keynes opens, it is named The Point and is the UK’s first multiplex cinema.  It continues the Milton Keynes pioneering spirit, championing new and innovative ideas.  The building’s striking design, a neon lit glass and steel pyramid, is yet another example of the architectural revolution taking place in the town.

In the 1980s, a time when most British towns and cities begin to value their forgotten heritage in a bid to claim an identity in a quickly changing world, Milton Keynes becomes synonymous with modernity and future living.  The town decisively promotes a forward-looking message, encapsulated by the new Shopping Building and The Point multiplex cinema.  These values are enforced by the launch of Homeworld, an exhibition showcasing new technologies in housing, which takes place in 1981.  In 1986 the town hosts the Energy World architectural competition highlighting thermal efficiency in housing. Developments such as these ensure that Milton Keynes remains a beacon of modernity in the public mind.

The Central Milton Keynes development is the final chapter in the story of the creation of New Towns, it solidifies Milton Keynes’ Identity as an ambitious, forward thinking metropolis, built on the notion that ‘anything is possible’.  It is this ideology which drives Milton Keynes to the new millennium and beyond.

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