THE NEW TOWNS
SIR,—I was shocked to read the letter of your cor- respondent Nicolas Hill (May 1). He must be a most unhappy man for he takes such a jaundiced view of life in our New Town, and especially of life within our 'community.' Living within half a mile of him. and being chairman of the Neighbourhood Associa- tion established within the community, I am, perhaps, as qualified as anyone to correct the totally false impression created. At the same time, maybe, 1 can guide Mr. Hill towards a fuller life within our com- munity.
To -state that there is no imagination or planning behind the layout of our community is utter nonsense, in fact, I seriously doubt whether your reader could point to any other community of approximately 1,600 houses where a greater variety of design, or variation in layout exists, except perhaps where a community has developed in a haphazard manner over the past hundred years. If Mr. Hill had aimed his criticism at the first of the communities developed in Hemel Hempstead a number of people might have agreed with him, but in visiting the Others it is not difficult to trace the development of the New Town by the boldness and imagination of those responsible for the planning. Perhaps the design of our shops is an experiment which might be termed a failure, but that, once more, indicates an attempt to be different and I'm not at all certain that everyone finds them as objectionable as your correspondent.
I have no idea why Mr. Hill should have thought that the area now being privately developed was intended as a green area. Nothing I have ever seen has given me such an impression. Certainly most of us would have liked it to have been (a part will in fact remain so), but fortunately not many of us are of the 'I'm all right, Jack' species, and as other people with young families are eagerly awaiting houses in our new town we must be prepared to make do with a reasonable area of open space and parkland.
Has Mr. Hill yet volunteered to help the Neigh- bourhood develop its recreational and educational facilities? Has he yet attended one meeting of the Neighbourhood Association? If so, he hasn't made himself known to me. During the two years he has lived within our community eight editions of our Neighbourhood journal, the WEB, have been de- livered to his door. Each one has appealed for support for one or another of the organisations established within our community. Each one has appealed for suggestions of new groups which may be of local interest. in the short space of time our community has been in existence enthusiasts have formed a wide variety of organisations and clubs. For Mr. Hill's wife, who can find nothing to distract her from the endless boredom of household chores, may I suggest she joins the Townswomen's Guild, formed within the community? It has sections covering social studies, arts and crafts, music and drama. Should none of these appeal to her I'm certain the Guild would wil- lingly put her in touch with the nearest organisation catering for her particular hobby.
Hemel Hempstead, in the main, is a happy place to live in. The communities are formed of young people, mostly with homes of their own for the first time, mostly with young families, living within easy reach of the metropolis yet enjoying a very beautiful countryside. They have every reason to be happy. I would suggest to your correspondent that the New Town is worthy of his reappraisal, that he takes another look at these people and their homes. Surely it is Mr. Hill who is out of step, not the other 50,000 or so who make up our New Town of Hemel Hemp- stead.—Yours faithfully,
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