THE NEW TOWNS SIR,—For fifteen months I have lived in
the New Town of Hemel Hempstead. New Towns arc an important aspect of contemporary life, and presum- ably will increase in number, so it is important that it should be known what a wretched town has been built, rather than the Utopia which it could have been.
Hemel Hempstead is a series of communities built on the hills surrounding an old town which lies in the valley. The Old Town has been added to, to pro- vide the amenities of a town—libraries, cinemas, big stores, etc. As the centre of the town lies at the bottom of the hills it is impossible for the average housewife to visit it often, as the bus service is poor, and the hills too steep to push a pram, so I shall only describe the community in which I live.
There is no imagination or planning behind the lay- out of the community. The houses are jerry-built; the ground floors are entirely paved with tiles, making them as cold and draughty as a mediaeval outhouse. The houses are jammed together like a nineteenth- century slum. A large private building estate has sud- denly appeared on the green area which is theoretically meant to separate the communities.
The few shops are built and look like matchboxes. They are situated at the edge of the community rather than in the middle, and sell a meagre selection of second-rate goods. There is nothing to distract the unfortunate housewife from the endless monotony and boredom of household chores. It would seem that everything has been sacrificed for uniformity and neatness. The community resembles a modern chicken farm, every chicken alone in its identical box, rather than a community built for humans to live and enjoy life in.
Very few of those who have, or could, influence the destiny of the Ncw Town have actually lived in it, whether town officials or journalists. I do not think they quite realise how very dreary and monotonous it is to live in a town where all the people are earning the same income and where all the buildings and fit- tings are identical and second-rate.
To live in a New Town is like a foretaste of what England might become if the petty-mindedness and bureaucracy of a few is going to be allowed to dominate the lives of so many. Let someone who loves . people, and not uniformity—beauty, and not drab- ness—build the next town.—Yours faithfully, NICOLAS HILL 100 Spring Lane, Hemel Hempstead, Herts
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