Orders of the Day — Cumbernauld New Town

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 16 November 1960.

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Photo of Mr Cyril Bence Mr Cyril Bence , Dunbartonshire East 12:00, 16 November 1960

I beg to move, That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) (New Town of Cumbernauld) (Special Development) Order, 1960 (S.I., 1960, No. 1305), dated 27rth July 1960, a copy of which was laid before this House on 27th July, in the last Session of Parliament, be annulled. Many of us who have visited the new town of Cumbernauld, and I have visited it regularly over the last three or four years, are impressed by the excellent work which has been done by the Development Corporation. In many respects the architectural design and layout strike us as being of an excellent character, but, naturally, in such a development as this in a new town there are critics of the layout of some of the houses and of some of the designs. That is to be expected. It is no doubt because of those criticisms that the Secretary of State for Scotland felt impelled to introduce this Order.

We feel, and I am sure that this is felt also by many local authorities in Scotland, that the taking away from the local authority of the function of approving or of being consulted about, the lay-out of this new town is a blow at the functions of elected bodies. After all, although the Development Corporation is, as it were, an agent of the Secretary of State for Scotland, or an agent of the Government, in creating this new town, the town has, nevertheless, been developed within the planning area of the Dumbarton County Council.

From the point of view of our town and country planning legislation, any development in that county is subject to approval by the planning authority, which is the county council. If a private developer wished to develop some properties within the County of Dumbarton, he would have to seek the approval of the county council. If the county council did not approve the plans, or the layout of the properties to be developed, the private developer would have recourse to an appeal to the Secretary of State for Scotland. If the appeal were accepted, there would be a public inquiry. People independent of the local authority and independent of the State Department in Edinburgh would be called before the inquiry. There would be a reasonably impartial inquiry into the objections by the planning authority and the reasons put forward by the private developer as to why he should proceed with the plans he had laid down.

As I am sure happens in most cases, such a public inquiry would satisfy the general public that democracy was at work and that no one was being steamrollered over rough-shod by the central Parliament, that is, by the Government, whether it were in Whitehall or in St. Andrew's House.

Although many people appreciate the splendid work being done in the new town, they nevertheless feel that the county council and the district council have today, and increasingly in the future, to provide and manage many services in the new town, and that it is therefore wrong to withdraw any powers from such authorities. They feel that these authorities should be consulted before decisions are reached about the architectural layout or development of a new town.

I know that when the development corporation sets out plans for the development of various housing schemes or for commercial buildings within a new town it has to get the approval of the Secretary of State for Scotland, and having got his approval, it has to submit its plans to the planning authority. But if the planning authority, which is the Dumbarton County Council, turns down some aspect of the planning, the Development Corporation then appeals to the Secretary of State for Scotland, and it seems to me that the Secretary of State for Scotland is obliged to support the Development Corporation because he has previously approved the plans submitted to him.

I have always thought that that is an extraordinary situation. I think that the same thing should apply to the Development Corporation as applies to a private developer. There should be a local public inquiry into why there is controversy over some aspect of the planning.

During my visit to Cumbernauld I received many complaints from residents. I received hundreds of them and I took them up with the management in Cumbernauld. The complaints were invariably dealt with in a reasonably short time. However, I do not remember receiving a single complaint from the residents in the new town about the houses. Most of the people whom I met liked the houses which the Development Corporation was building. Obviously people living in one style of house in one part of the town may not like some other style of house in some other part, but one will always get that. Different people have different ideas of the sort of house in which they want to live, but I can honestly say that I did not receive a serious complaint by the residents in the new town about the houses being built for them.

The complaints were mostly about the provision of shopping facilities and general amenities. Those facilities are not easy to provide at the beginning of the development of a new town. They come in as the town grows, and as the town grows the amenities improve.

There are, however, some aspects of the development of the new town which must concern the Dumbarton County Council. There is the siting of schools and the lay-out of them. The provision of playing fields and various social amenities must also be considered. Are we to understand that in future, because of the operation of this Order, the Development Corporation will be able to site playing fields or social amenities or a health centre where it likes, and ignore the views of the county council about where they should be sited?

I have here a copy of a letter dated 2nd September, 1960, addressed by the Department to the County Clerk of Dunbartonshire. It includes a paragraph couched in certain terms. Many people who have to deal with Departments of State and Ministers are getting tired of this sort of expression. I sometimes wonder whether it is not likely to become a sort of rubber stamp. The letter states: I would like to stress, on this, the first occasion on which we have had consultations under the new procedure, that we do value the experience and knowledge which the County Council and its officers can bring to bear on these questions and that, because these three developments have been approved— That is, the three housing developments at Muirhead: it does not follow that the County Council's comments will never find favour. The county council's comments have not found favour so far, and I have a faint suspicion that, notwithstanding this excellent language, this beautiful phrasing—it is all very courteous—once the Secretary of State has approved the proposals of the Development Corporation and the county council raises some objection, that phrase will crop up every time. The man in St. Andrew's House will know best.

Many hon. Members from time to time have tried to get planning permission for all sorts of people who want to develop, but more often than not we fail hopelessly. In this case, when a State corporation—and the Development Corporation is an instrument of the State—comes up against some difficulty with the local planning authority, the county council, the officers of the State use a heavy steamroller to eliminate it.

This goes very deep, indeed. We all complain—and in a democracy we should complain—when the general body of citizens are apathetic at elections. Here we have a town and country planning committee in Dunbartonshire appointed from the elected representatives. That planning authority performs its function—and I am not concerned whether it is misguided or correctly guided. In performing its function it runs up against a big corporation set up by the State. That causes the corporation some inconvenience—I do not doubt that. The corporation having been caused that inconvenience, the Secretary of State looks through the legislation and finds that he has power to stop hese elected people exercising their democratic rights.

That is very dangerous. Democracy is very important in these times. We in this country boast that we stand and fight for freedom, and for an attitude of freedom to individuals, or groups of individuals who organise together to pursue a legitimate purpose. Surely, it is legitimate for this county council to make its views known, and to insist that its voice is heard on what is happening in a development area such as the Cumbernauld New Town.

Houses in that area are being built 40 ft. apart. It is a new style of development. They are separated from each other by huge wooden fences. When I first saw them I wondered whether I had, by mistake, got into the married quarters of the Highland Light Infantry. That is what they looked like to me. They are very good houses. Many Army officers would like married quarters like that, but a great number of citizens would not like to live in them for the next fifty years of their lives.

They are not attractive, although there is no difficulty in letting them because they are attractive to many people. For instance, I can quite understand that many people from certain parts of Glasgow would be delighted with them, and I do not doubt that those who have moved into these houses are delighted.

The houses are developed in such a way that there is no provision for vehicular traffic of any kind. They are serviced by walks and by very narrow pavements. The idea is that in the ultimate development of the new town the vehicular servicing will be done by means of a large arterial road system. The lay-out is wonderful, as many hon. Members who have seen the model will agree. The cost will be anything from £3 million to £4 million. The efficiency and the ultimate advantage of this form of development now going on is absolutely dependent on that large arterial system and central development being carried out at some time in the future.

It might turn out, however, that at some time in the future a Chancellor of the Exchequer may say to the then Secretary of State for Scotland, "I understand that you intend to spend £3 million or £4 million on some magnificent development in the centre of Cumbernauld. It is too expensive. The country is in a bad way." That might happen just after an election—it certainly would not happen before.

The voters in the new town, who regularly see this beautiful model—it is a beautiful model, and a wonderful concept—may be tempted to cast their votes in the wrong direction, in the expectation that the work will be done, but experience has shown us, as democrats, that Governments very often change their mind once they are in office. If that concept were to break down, if that development were curbed or seriously cut, this type of housing lay-out in the new town would not be satisfactory. The one is absolutely dependent on the other.

It was, perhaps, from that angle that the local planning authority was so concerned. I do not know—I only surmise. It may be that the planning authority was afraid that at some time in the future, knowing what a raw deal Scotland so often gets from the central Government, this proposed development might be curbed, and a difficulty would arise with this high density building—and I know that the architects have a big problem there because of difficult contours.

We feel that the Secretary of State should withdraw this Order, and that an effort should be made by the Development Corporation and the county council as the planning authority to reach agreement on the form and style of planning and development, particularly in the provision of social amenities for future residents. I hope that the Joint Under-Secretary of State will take back this Order, and reconsider the proposals he is making.