New Towns will start life as urban extensions but eventually spiral into brand new places, using land which has been green for generations. This inevitability should be celebrated because the UK has languished behind other nations when it comes to placemaking, and things needed to change.
However, as we expand our towns, archaeological surveys will also expand our knowledge of British heritage and there needs to be a conversation about how that is incorporated into the design of new places.
There are obvious methods such as building out of local materials or giving a nod to the past with plaques or street names, but it feels a wasted opportunity to not consider whether ‘finds’, such as old buildings, physical pieces or monuments can be incorporated into the design of buildings and sites, thus revealing heritage and in some case, giving it a new life to fresh eyes.
If we do not consider incorporating heritage, it is likely that it will be lost forever because the need to build is great and judicial reviews or protections will get in the way of government pledges. We can see these unintended consequences with the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) who tell all that they support small sites within communities, but in practice give their members tools to oppose all developments.
This hasn’t gone well for CPRE because a Government which needs to get homes built has permitted and encouraged huge sites outside of communities and within the countryside. This would not have been the case if these homes were delivered on tens of smaller sites within existing settlements. But that is not the end of their campaigning misstep, now that there are empty spaces between existing towns and new huge developments in the countryside, there is justification to see them filled with homes and create the urban sprawl they oppose.
And as with CPRE’s miscalculation, heritage will be lost entirely if we do not accept land use is inevitable.
There are other elements to consider too. Many heritage rail lines continue operating, some between major places. Although they operate original, tourist locomotives, they offer an opportunity to also be used for more modern trains and attract much needed extra funding while still retaining their heritage use and exposure. Mobile heritage is rarely considered but played a huge part of British industry.
Reopening canal routes or creating new ones so the network is fully connected again. Supporting electric aviation on airfields. Even bringing back long lost foods, such as cobnuts or fall russet apples. New Towns can recognise and embed heritage in their design and delivery and as advocates of heritage building, we should be pushing the Government to do more, not challenging them to preserve all.
Rico Wojtulewicz, Head of Policy and Market Insight at NFB.
