| Administrative History | NATIONAL BACKGROUND:
New Towns were first established in England in the late 1940s as a result of the New Towns Act 1946. This was itself the Government response to the report of the New Town Committee, appointed in October 1945 under the chairmanship of Lord Reith. The underlying principle is that towns should be established and developed as self-contained, balanced communities for work and living; the method of achieving this was to be the establishment of a Development Corporation for each designated town, appointed by central government, and armed with wider powers than the established local authorities. The first duty of the Corporation was to produce a master plan, and then to provide, usually directly, the necessary communications infrastructure, housing and industrial estates, to work with other bodies in encouraging suitable developments, and to ensure that all proposals and changes were in accord with the overall strategy.
Since 1946, the powers and duties of Development Corporations have been amended by subsequent legislation including the New Town Acts, 1959, 1965, 1981 and 1982, the New Towns (Amendment) Act 1976, and the New Towns and Urban Development Corporations Act, 1985.
RUNCORN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Runcorn New Town was designated by the Minister of Housing and Local Government on 10 April 1964, with the aim of providing housing and jobs for the people of North Merseyside and Liverpool in particular. The site was chosen for its convenient location in relation to the Merseyside conurbation. The designated area (2930 hectares) covered nearly the whole of the existing Urban District and a part of Runcorn Rural District. The Corporation was formally appointed on 30 April 1964.
The Draft Master Plan for the New Town, prepared by Arthur Ling and Associates, was published in January 1966; after public consultations, the Master Plan was submitted to the Minister in April 1967. It received Ministerial approval in August 1968.
By March 1981, it had completed the construction of nearly 10,500 rented housing units, over 350,000 sq. metres of industrial units and nearly 90,000 sq. metres of commercial and office space. The population had risen from c.28,000 to c.64,000.
Under the Warrington and Runcorn New Towns (Transfer of Functions) Order 1981, made by the Secretary of State on 27 February 1981, the Corporation was dissolved on 1 April 1981 and it functions, property, rights and liabilities were transferred to Warrington Development Corporation which was renamed Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation.
WARRINGTON, LATER WARRINGTON AND RUNCORN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Warrington was designated as a New Town on 26 April 1968 in order to provide housing and employment for people from the south east Lancashire and north east Cheshire conurbation; its
designated area of 7550 hectares lay in Warrington County Borough, Warrington Rural District and Runcorn Rural District and included 3 very large areas of publicly-owned derelict land:- the former RAF camp at Padgate, a large part of RAF Burtonwood and the Royal Ordnance factory site at Risley. The members of the Corporation were formally appointed on 5 March 1969.
The Outline Plan was completed in January 1972, and after a Public Inquiry, accepted by the Secretary of State in June 1973.
By March 1981 the Corporation had completed c.3,500 rented housing units, over 330,000 square metres of industrial units, c.37,300 square metres of office space and c.29,000 square metres of commercial units.
On 1 April 1981, the Corporation was renamed the Warrington and Runcorn Development Corporation and assumed the responsibilities and functions of the dissolved Runcorn Development Corporation. The proposed winding up of the Corporation in "the late 1980s" was already being discussed, and the emphasis shifted from the provision of rented housing to the sale of dwellings already built and the stimulation of private developers. The Corporation was dissolved on 30 September 1989. |