From Evangelistic Bureaucrat to visionary developer: The changing character of the master plan in Britain

Abstract

This paper contends that the concept of a master plan is deeply embedded in both the theory and practice of town planning in Britain.From the middle of the 20 th Century numerous new towns and comprehensive development areas of post war Britain were master planned in an attempt to prescribe land use patterns.However, the process of generating and implementing these ambitious, large-scale and comprehensive master plans became increasingly difficult in the face of public opposition and erosion of trust in experts; the decline in public sector intervention and the collapse of the property market.As a result, the 1970s and early 1980s saw an unremitting decline in the concept of the master plan as a tool for the development and redevelopment of British cities.Yet, in the last twenty years there has been a revival in the use of the term but in dramatically altered circumstances as re-assertion of the power and influence of the private sector has changed the nature of these plans.With reference to recent master planning initiatives, this paper explores the changing shape and character of the master planning process in Britain; and assesses if it is an appropriate tool for the 21 st Century.