View report page

- 35 -
Town Area. In this connection, Sir William Holford, F.R.I.B.A., M.T.P.I.,
was retained by the Council to prepare and submit, in association with
Mr. R. T. Kennedy, A.R.I.B.A., M.T.P.I., an architectural lay-out for
the redevelopment of the area.
During the year, Sir William Holford submitted his redevelopment
plan and in doing so assumed that:-_
(i) Redevelopment will be almost entirely public authority
housing subsidised by the Housing Acts.
(ii) There are likely to be many delays and difficulties
in the removal of industrial and commercial concerns
at present scattered through the area which have
received full or temporary planning permissions; and
(iii) Reconstruction of the area is bound to be carried out
in stages over a number of years unless, as seems
unlikely, large numbers of the present inhabitants can
be resettled elsewhere quickly by decentralisation.
The proposals aim to change completely the present layout of
buildings and to put into the area open spaces that are of amenity and
recreational value for the groups of dwellings and the neighbourhood as
a whole, while retaining in general the present layout of streets so as
to obviate heavy capital expenditure in relaying or re-aligning existing
services of gas, electricity, water, telephone and sewers. Certain
streets will be closed to vehicles and converted into pedestrian ways.
The objects of these proposals axe
(i) reduction in the number and frequency of road junctions
and intersections;
(ii) reduction of drivers' opportunity to short-cut through
the housing area;
(iii) increase of paved space for pedestrians free of traffic
hazards;
(iv) quieter conditions for the new housing;
(v) reduction of street maintenance costs.
Provision is further made for a generous allocation of land
for garages and hardstandings so as to avoid street parking in the area.
Within the confines of the blocks of property separated from
each other by existing streets, Sir William proposes a complete change
of the existing pattern of buildings for a pattern which he believes to
be not only more architecturally stimulating but one that recognises the
value of letting in more daylight, sunlight and air to the dwellings.
Sir William Holford draws attention to proposals in the County
of London Development Plan for the extension of the Horniman Pleasance
and the recently added playgrounds as public open space. This adjacent
public open space is likely to be more used by Kensal New Town
inhabitants than by those of any other area and, therefore, he makes
no special provision for additional public open space but within the
scheme he proposes that the recreational needs of different age groups
should be catered for as well as the provision of trees, shrubs and grass
in selected places. The spaces between the blocks might be laid out
as communal gardens with provision for toddlers' play spaces, and an
area of open space proposed on the site of the existing Edenham Mews as
an equipped playground for 6-11 year olds.
As regards the type of development suggested, the plan envisages
four tall point blocks of flats, 10 or 11 storeys in height, which is
a form of development involving less extensive clearance of existing