Historic Town Centres (Preservation) (Hansard, 21 July 1964)

§ Sir K. Joseph

This is a matter which I have very much in mind.

Satisfactory procedures for ensuring the preservation of buildings of merit whether singly or in groups are already well established. If however our older towns are to continue to be good places for their citizens to live in, change to meet modern needs is as essential as the conservation of the best of the past.

The problem is to ensure that the necessary changes are made in harmony with the scale and character of the fine streets and areas which have come down to us from the past. It is essential that the individuality and urbanity of these towns be preserved.

I and my colleague, the Minister of Transport, have already called attention to this in planning bulletins. But I believe that further and more detailed advice would be helpful to all concerned with this important and difficult question of preserving the quality of our environment. I have therefore had work started on the preparation of a publication which will deal specifically with our ancient 53W towns and the historic areas which survive in other towns. I intend that there should be detailed studies of about a dozen selected towns and areas ranging from places where the heart of the town still substantially consists of historic buildings to towns where there are still one or two streets of character. These will illustrate by example the qualities and types of areas which need preservation and will also, I hope, suggest how modern needs can best be reconciled with the retention of these qualities.

Among the objects of the studies will be the extent to which special standards should be applied in historic areas and the means by which the effect of proposed new development on the existing character can be adequately assessed.

My Advisory Committee on Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest, under the Chairmanship of Sir William Holford, will be closely associated with this work.