From the archive: New Towns Participation  

As we await the findings of the New Towns Taskforce report and watch the Planning and Infrastructure Bill progress through Parliament, we should ponder the crucial role of public participation in delivering new large-scale communities. 

Based on evidence from the TCPA’s then annual New Towns survey, Trevor MacMurray reflects on the role of public participation in the planning of post-war New Towns in the January 1974 edition of Town and Country Planning.   

MacMurray offers three overarching criticisms of how community participation was handled in the planning of the post-war New Towns. Firstly, that communities were often consulted too late in the process and consequently had limited choices. This was often compounded by how residents are engaged, where the chosen language and engagement methods acted as a barrier to community participation. Finally, MacMurray argues that too often engagement is focused on physical results, such as land use, when it may be better served by exploring the needs of the community and resolving issues that they are already facing.  

Yet, MacMurray does mention the challenge posed by trying to consult a group of people who have not yet moved to the new community. As Harlow put it in their response to the TCPA New Town survey, ‘planning is for Londoners who are not yet here for consultation’. 

However, the article does go on to showcase emerging engagement approaches that were gaining traction during the planning of the New Towns in the 1970s. In their survey responses, both Irvine and Northampton remarked on the benefits of taking a client group approach to help identify and consult key groups in the area, as well as identify their respective needs.  Additionally, MacMurray highlighted the need for continuous engagement with the community as the New Towns develop and grow, such as Livingston’s 10-year check-in and Runcorn’s Social and Community Planning research.  

‘Participation in the planning and development of new towns, and more continuously in their management, will rely on effective organisation of residents to articulate and represent their views, and on channels of communication between planners and planned.’ 

People are the key to creating successful new communities, and it is essential that in a new generation of New Towns, they are given a voice from the earliest opportunity, right through to the management and stewardship of the community.  

From the archive: New Towns Participation from the January 1974 edition of Town and Country Planning