SPECIAL REPORT: NEW TOWNS
SPECIAL REPORT: NEW TOWNS AND VILLAGES
Milton Keynes was built 50 years ago – but has it been a success and can new towns save the countryside?
A s the Government proposes to build 14 new ‘garden villages’ in England, we look back at pioneering new town Milton Keynes, which is 50 years old this year. Has it been an economic and social success and what impact has it had on the rural environment? What lessons can we learn from Milton Keynes about how to meet modern housing demands?
BBC Countryfile Magazine investigates...
Why did Britain build towns after the Second World War?
New towns were a response to the post-war housing crisis of unfit, poor quality buildings. Initially they were intended to relieve housing congestion in the south-east but were gradually rolled out across England and Scotland. Later creations such as Milton Keynes can be seen as a modernised interpretation of the garden city movement, which emerged in the early 20th century and comprised planned, self-contained communities surrounded by green belts.