Stevenage 75th anniversary magazine | biz4Biz - Magazine - Page 11
History
EARLY DIFFICULTIES
The label ‘new town’ can be
contentious these days – not least as
Stevenage ceased to be managed by a
Development Corporation over forty
years ago, more than half its ‘official’
lifetime. At the time of designation
back in 1946 there was noisy opposition
from many residents, and the legal
battles went all the way to the High
Court, then Court of appeal, before
the go ahead could be confirmed. A
Referendum and a Mass Observation
Survey showed local opinion was split
down the middle. Many people saw
clearly the advantages of getting better
jobs, better homes and better facilities.
These battles were followed closely
nationally and particularly in the USA in
print and broadcast media. E.M.Forster
in a BBC talk went so far as to say the
news of a new town at Stevenage (called
Hilton in his 1910 novel Howards End)
was more like a ‘meteorite’, than the
satellite to London that Stevenage was
intended to be when it was being planned
by Patrick Abercrombie for the London
County Council and the Ministry as
a pilot scheme to relieve pressure on
London after the war.
ABOVE LEFT: Silkin speaking, flanked by officials on the platform ABOVE RIGHT: Silkingrad sign on Stevenage Station BELOW: Crowd outside public meeting addressed by Lewis Silkin
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