An old towns commission ?
Sir: The article by Mr Nicholas Davenport (5 May) has a lot to commend it. There are two
points that need emphasising and re-emphasising so that those concerned with the housing of the people and the stock of houses should take neces- sary action.
First. there is the question of the large number of sub-standard houses which can be improved and made into valuable units for housing purposes and not allowed to deteriorate into slums and near-slums for which the only answer is demolition. There are too many planners who would like to see wholesale demolition of residential areas in our large towns which are not necessarily slums but would offer these people the delight and pleasure of 're-planning.' Were the financial re- sources of this country illimitable there might be something in such a suggestion. As we have still a very long way to go to clear what are, at present, obviously slums, we must think of preser- vation and improvement where possible rather than condemnation and demolition. Powers exist for improvement and conversion of sub-standard houses to be carried out both by local authorities and private landlords. I trust that the Government will vigorously pursue its intention to enact new legislation which will ensure that the task of im- provement is carried out expeditiously.
Secondly, the idea of extending existing towns is an excellent one and one which I have re- peatedly advocated. Assuming that towns like London. Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Man- chester. etc, must export part of their overspill, it should not be beyond the wit of our administrators to move them to those towns which are well established and which might be able to take a certain number at a proportionally less cost than by the establishment of new towns or the expansion of villages and small towns.
Those towns like Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, etc, might conceivably, over a number of years, take some 100,000 new citizens if en- couraged to do so by central government. The expansion of existing social services of these towns to accommodate the newcomers should cost less per head than if such services had had to be pro- vided ab initio. The exercise must also be co- ordinated with the work of the Ministry of Labour in order to ensure that the newcomers will have appropriate jobs to which to go.
Both of these schemes, particularly the latter, need careful thought but quick action if the housing conditions in this country have to be made tolerable for the bulk of those who are suffering the various housing ills which are continuously receiving comments.
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