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                  New Town Corporations

                  New town development corporations were set up as a result of the New Towns Act 1946 which enabled the Secretary of State for Scotland to designate sites for new towns and appoint development corporations to plan and build them.[1] This resulted in five new towns in Scotland:  East Kilbride (1949), Glenrothes (1948), Cumbernauld (1956), Livingston (1962) and Irvine (1966). A sixth new town was proposed for Stonehouse, in Lanarkshire, but this proposal was abandoned.

                  After the Second World War, new towns were seen as a way of alleviating overpopulation in inner cities, speeding up regeneration of industry and increasing employment throughout the UK.  The five new towns in Scotland re-housed hundreds of thousands of people from west central Scotland, especially Glasgow, attracted new industrial and commercial developments and were key sites for modern planning and architecture.

                  The five new town development corporations consisted of a chairman, deputy chairman and up to seven members, all appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland after consultation with local authorities.  They were responsible for planning and related functions including housing and roads, and the Secretary of State could approve their development proposals after consultation with the local planning authority.  These key functions were therefore removed from the scrutiny of elected councillors within the new town although all other local authority functions (education, social work, etc) continued to be provided by the relevant local authority for the area within which the town was located.

                  The five new town development corporations were wound up between 1991 and 1997.[2]  East Kilbride and Glenrothes were formally dissolved on 5 April 1996 and Cumbernauld, Irvine and Livingston were formally dissolved on 31 March 1997.[3]

                  The records of the development corporations were transferred to local authority archives services. East Kilbride Development Corporation records are held by South Lanarkshire Council Archives, Glenrothes by Fife Archives, Cumbernauld by North Lanarkshire Council Archives, Livingston by West Lothian Council Archives and Irvine by Ayrshire Archives.

                  Compilers: SCAN contributors (2000). Editor: Elspeth Reid (2021)

                  Bibliography

                  Edwards, K.C., ‘The New Towns of Britain’ Geography 49.3 (1964), pp. 279-85

                  Goodlad, Robina and Suzie Scott, ‘Housing and the Scottish New Towns: A Case Study of Policy Termination and Quasi markets’, Urban Studies 33.2 (1996), pp. 317-35

                  Levitt, Ian, ‘New Towns, New Scotland, New Ideology, 1937-57’ The Scottish Historical Review 76.2 No. 202 (1997), pp. 222-38

                  Tyrwhitt, Jacqueline, ‘Changes in new town policies in Britain 1946-1971’ Ekistics 36 No.212 (1973), pp. 14-16

                   

                  References

                  [1] New Towns Act, 1946 (9 & 10 Geo. VI c.68) ss.1-2.

                  [2] The New Town (Glenrothes) Winding Up Order 1992 (SI No. 354 (S. 28)); The New Town (East Kilbride) Winding Up Order 1992 (SI No 355 (S. 29)); The New Town (Livingston) Winding Up Order 1993 (SI No 3060 (S. 289)); The New Town (Irvine) Winding Up Order 1993 (SI No. 3061 (S. 290)); The New Town (Cumbernauld) Winding Up Order 1993 (SI No. 3062 (S. 291)); The New Town (East Kilbride) Winding Up (Variation) Order 1994 (SI No. 200 (S. 6)).

                  [3] The New Town (Glenrothes) Dissolution Order 1996 (1996 No. 1065 (S. 114)); The New Town (East Kilbride) Dissolution Order 1996 (1996 No. 1066 (S. 115)); The New Town (Irvine) Dissolution Order 1997 (1997 No. 641 (S. 39)); The New Town (Livingston) Dissolution Order 1997 (1997 No. 642 (S. 40)); The New Town (Cumbernauld) Dissolution Order 1997 (1997 No. 643 (S. 41)).