TRADING ESTATES
By SIR MALCOLM STEWART
WHEN considering the post-war shape of things to come, my thoughts often turn to the Distressed Areas. I have always regretted that Parliament changed the name to "Special." It seemed to me as though we were, at the outset, jibbing at facing the naked facts, the ghastly tragedy of the suffering borne by those whose lot it was to live in these areas, suffering caused by long unemployment. One thing is certain. Unemploy- ment will again rear its ugly head, and once more there will be distressed areas unless we can successfully plan in advance for their prevention. The task is colossal. Completely changed con- ditions will come about suddenly. The order "cease fire" will mean "cease work." Tens of thousands who have been doing their bit to win the war will be threatened with unemployment. Serving men will soon want to be back at home and at work. Plant will have to be re-adapted and factories reorganised to manufacture their pre-war products. Many businesses and works, closed because they were deemed to be non-essential for war purposes, will have to be reopened. The reorganisation of industrial life will take time. Legislation will be needed in many directions, particularly with regard to building construction, if we are to proceed on any ordered plan. These are only a few of the difficulties to be overcome. Much work is being .quietly done, economic and other surveys made and blue-prints turned out ; but too many are working without an assured knowledge of how they are to reach their objective .because important fundamental principles on which their work must be based have not been decided by the Government.
One elementary fact which any personal experience of the Special Areas drives home is that there is no single or simple remedy for unemployment. Its prevention or cure can only be effected by bringing to bear every possible means of creating employment, and this will undoubtedly involve the adoption of unconventional measures. One comparatively recent experiment which could with advantage be considerably developed is the Trading Estate. Trading Estates, indeed, are by this time something more than an experiment, for their value has been decisively proved. Their influence can be much increased to the benefit of industrial life, particularly that of smaller manufacturers engaged in the light industries. A great national asset can be created if they are linked with physical reconstruction.
It is just seven years since, as First Commissioner, I was empowered by the Government to establish one or more Trading Estates in the Special Areas. At that time my recommendation was deemed to be novel and unorthodox, particularly in respect of their being financed from Exchequer funds. My proposals provided in each case for the formation of an independent company not trading for a profit but financed from grams out of the Special Areas Fund secured on a debenture on the :and and property, interest being waived for the first five years. The Board consisted of representative industrialists from the area, one director represent- ing the Government and one appointed by the Commissioner. All
gave their services voluntarily. The initial difficulties in launching the Estates were considerable. Local rivalries as to their location had to be dealt with before the final selection of the most economic sites could be confirmed. However, with the help of a few public- spirited men with wide experience and drawn from different walks of life, all difficulties were overcome, and the Team Valley Trading Estate, situated ncar Gateshead and only three miles from Newcastle- upon-Tyne, was initiated. It was designed at the outset on lines which envisaged success. The site was well chosen and the lay-out generous. Ample provision was made for railway-sidings, roads, power and heating, &c. This was followed by the establishment of a similar Estate at Treforest, Monmouth. Both these (and that pro- vided by the Commissioner for Scotland) have proved successful, particularly through the facilities provided for smaller manufacturers engaged in the light industries. Of these there had been a dearth in the Special Areas.
These estates were expanding steadily before the war and render definite service to the community. A contributory cause of their success was the financial help available through a Special Fund. In realisation of the need for better financial facilities, and to assist industrial development in the Special Areas, sanction had been obtained for the promotion of Special Areas Reconstruction Associa- tion, Limited, with a nominal capital of Dt,000,000. Its main object was to help financially small businesses in the Special Areas. A considerable portion of the fund ultimately assisted rather bigger undertakings, but much assistance was afforded to the smaller ones
by the trust formed and endowed with L2,000,000 through the great generosity of Lord Nuffield. It is interesting to look back and to realise that this Government-sponsored scheme ll back on a private citizen for further financial support.
How can the Trading Estates experiment be expanded to assist post-war reconstructicm? I believe that it can play an important part if the problem is tackled with vision and faith. If the Estates were multiplied in accordance with definite principles, they would have a direct influence on the problem of the location of industry.
The formula which I devised in 1936 was in effect that industrialists should be told where they should not go, and this had _special bearing on the Greater London area, so overcrowded with ill-ordered construction. This, formula wis confirmed in the findings of the Royal Commission on the Geographical Distribution of the Indus- trial Population. It provided a new outlook and a definite step forward at the time, but it is of a somewhat negative character. With the change of atmosphere and gain of experience the time has come for a more positive policy.
My proposal is the creation of a chain of economically located Trading Estates. Thus, instead of only telling manufacturers to keep out of forbidden areas and leaving them wondering where they should go, the Government could offer them the advantages of, and direct them to, a definite destination. The advantages will prove a sure and safe attraction to many. What are the requisite con- ditions, and where lies the best starting-point? I suggest that every blitzed and other area contemplating replanning or the creation of satellite townships, and every proposed new industrial area, should be required to embrace in its schemes provision for an approved Trading Estate, whether small or large. The small man can thereby be encouraged to venture into industry and the ill-equipped manu- facturer to obtain modem factory-space and service favouring in- creased efficiency. Further, while there are many firms and companies that have suffered severe material damage, and have gone
out of business, their human material remains, managers,- foremen and skilled workers. These possess technical skill andvare hoping
for opportunity to apply it. Trading Estates can provide this, but capital will be required. It is essential that ample funds should be provided by the Government to assist these potential producers, particularly those requiring to operate on a modest scale. This no doubt involves the taking of some extra risk beyond that which banking and o:her financial institutions normally accept, but the benefits accruing from the opportunity afforded to those with technical knowledge and enterprise to establish themselves and produce are out of all proportion to the small percentage of loss which is all that, with wise administration, need be incurred. What is required is a logical and bold extension modelled on existing machinery. To secure control and co-ordination of opera- tions it is essen:ial the State should assume a monopoly of Trading Estates. How can it more fitly express itself than by fathering the work of providing for those prepared to produce? Latent talent in peril of being lost will find itself, to the advantage of the country. The present method of administration through corporations not trading for a profit is sound and should be continued. There would be needed an overriding authority, with first-class industrial ex- perience, to give sanction to the establishment of Trading Estates so as to prevent overlapping—a task particularly appropriate to a Minister of Industry. Thus can the State assume the role of the moneyed sleeping-partner, finding finance on easy terms, appointing directors to watch its interes:s but not interfering with the executive work so long as loan obligations are fulfilled. State-controlled Trading Estates should have a prominent place in any considered plans for post-war reconstruction.
Previous page
