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the Council may, if it so desires, secure that all future
development within the district (or outside also) shall proceed
only along such lines and in such manner as is laid down in an
approved, comprehensive plan and scheme for the whole or any
part of the district which the Local Government Board may, on
application, give the Council sanction to prepare.
It is worthy of note, also, that in addition to securing the
convenient and systematic planning of roads and streets,
permission may also be included in the scheme to control such
matters as the reservation of adequate open spaces, preservation
of objects of historical interest or natural beauty, restriction on
the number of houses per acre, and, what is of much importance
in this district, control over the height and character (including
architectural features, value, etc.) of the buildings to be erected
in any particular street or district. The importance of this
latter provision cannot be too strongly emphasised, as at present
it often happens that the development of a street or district on
approved lines is arrested, and its value deteriorated by the
erection of an undesirable class of property, over which there is
at present little or no control. With these safeguards, however,
it would be possible to secure, within reasonable limits, that
properties of certain values should be confined to prescribed
areas.
The development of the district is at present practically in
the hands of Land Companies, private owners, and builders,
and is carried out in such manner as yields the best returns to
the interests involved. In the arrangement of the roads,
however, the district is particularly free from the ill-effects of
bad planning.
I observe that considerable areas of land in all parts of the
district are in the market for disposal for building purposes ;
also that building operations in the adjoining district of Barnet