LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY: DAY STUDY TOUR Friday 8 March 2013

LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY: Master Plan layout (1904) and Westholm housing (1906)

From the Master: Letchworth: the First Garden City, day tour Friday 8 March 2013
Garden Cities are back on the government's planning agenda. I have been involved with their management and conservation for almost 40 years. I have published several books on the subject: the latest Introducing English Garden Cities appeared in 2010 under the English Heritage imprint. In liaison with the Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation I am organising a visit to the First Garden City, established in 1903 on the basis of Ebenezer Howard's book, Tomorrow: A peaceful Path to Real Reform published in 1898. Building a Utopian community on the green fields of Hertfordshire was a bold strategy for First Garden City Ltd. However the Master Plan by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin and the enlightened cottage housing set standards for community planning during the 20th century and are still relevant today. Howard's 'joyous union of town and country' included a spacious town centre and an industrial estate, reflecting an arts and crafts architectural image, set in an agricultural green belt, which anticipated its statutory counterpart by 50 years. A unique feature about Letchworth is the requirement that the added value created by its development and management should be returned to the community, rather than distributed to shareholders. The Heritage Foundation is a registered charity which has ploughed resources into regeneration, including the local cinema, and awards grants to community organisations. It is independent of North Hertfordshire District Council, which is the planning authority. Most development requires landlord consent from the Foundation in addition to statutory planning permission from NHDC. Letchworth is easily accessible by rail from King's Cross or Cambridge, and is just off the A1 (M) junction 9. We will meet at the iconic II* listed Spirella building (a few yards from the station) at 10.00 for 10.30 for coffee and a briefing by the Heritage Foundation, the ground landlord. A bus tour will include stops at the Garden City Heritage Museum and the outstanding regeneration of Howard Park Gardens, the new sustainable housing at Hartington Place and an early Arts and Crafts private house. Lunch will be provided by the Foundation. The day will end about 4.00 pm. The final itinerary will be shaped by the demand for places, so expressions of interest are sought. I am aiming at a modest cost, all inclusive, of 25 per place.

To: The Clerk Ian Head 164 Stockbridge Road Winchester Hants SO22 6RW Tel No. 01962 869158 Email: clerk_wcca@btinternet.com

Please reserve____ Places for the Visit to Letchworth Garden City on Friday 8 March 2012. This expression of interest will be followed in due course by the issue of the full itinerary and a request for payment. The visit will be provisionally limited to thirty places. Please reply now as the extent of interest will shape the scope of the final itinerary.

NAME: GUESTS:

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