Evening star., 1941-01-26
London Must Face
Gigantic Postwar
Building Task
Improved Housing
Certain to Spring
From Devastation
BY H. J. ]. SARGENT.

WA
tinent of Europe and far beyond.
1t will be a moral, material and
political reconstruction, which is al
ready engaging the thoughts of some
Of the greatest minds of today.
1t is not my purpose to discuss in
this column those wider aspects of
postwar work, but I should like to
say something about the physical re-
building of the British Isles which
have suffered and are still going to
suffer heavily from the enemy's
bombs. I can speak with some
knowledge and with the Profound
est sympathy for the wreckage in
f1icted on England by the Germans,
though the material damage is far
in excess of the proportion of cas-
ualties one would expect. The ar
rangements for protecting human
life at which some people were in
lined to scoff before hostilitieS be-
gan have proved successful beyond
all expectations.
In many ways the physical damage
inflicted by bombs might almost be
said to be the silver lining within a
black cloud and it might not unrea-
sonably be compared to the good
which was done to London by the
great fire of 1866 which DESTROYED
street upon street of noisome slums
and gave Sir Christopher Wren an
opportunity to rebuild the city much
on the lines on which it now stands.
Blessing in Disguise.
When the great fire broke out in
Pudding lane, a few minutes walk
from where this article is being
written, people little dreamed that
that fire was blessing in disguise.
The modern public is less inclined
to be blind to the possibilities pre-
sented by the wholesome destruction
of house property both in London
and in the great cities of the Mid
lands, Manchester, Sheffield, Liver
pool and Birmingham.
When the war is finished there
will rise on the ruins of this Ger
man devastation buildings which
will give those who have the devel-
opment of modern domestic archi-
lecture at heart an opportunity to
show their mettle. Already the gov
ernment has given a lead to pri-
vate enterprise by appointing Lord
Relth, one of the great organizing
brains Of the country. Minister of
Works, but has expanded that old
ministry by adding to it the attri-
butte of public buildings" Lord
Relth is now not only first COM
missioner of works, as the depart
ment used to be called he is Min
lister of Works and Public Buildings
and under that ministry the work
OF raising new streets on the rubbie
and dust of the old ones will be
carried out.
Report Drafted for Cabinet.
Lord Relth's ministry has, I un-
derstand, already drafted a prelim-
mary report for the consideration
OF the cabinet on how the Job
should be done. This is conceived
on vast scale; nothing less than an
ordered replanning of Britain with
each piece of work in individual
towns and cities fitting into one
harmonious whole. Lord Reith en-
visages a society in which land will
be taken wherever necessary from
individual! owners for the general
benefit of the community and sees
the spread of garden cities with in
dustrlal sections surrounded by
green belts as we have, for instance.
at Welvyn in Hertfordshire, and at
Bournville near Birmingham where
Cadburys the great chocolate and
cocoa people, have their factories.
The old narrow, airless slum
streets are to go forever. In Lon
con, this policy has already borne
good results. There are great new
dormitory cities within London
which have been built on scientific
lines under the influence of the
London County Council. They would
take a series of articles to describe
in detail. Ground has been cleared
at places like Upminster, st. Helier's
and similar suburbs. where these
new housing estates, as they are
called, have risen, which do credit
to the local government administra-
ton ard to their designers.
Redistribution of Industries.
The great provincial towns will
require similar handling. For that
purpose the industrial life of the
country to some extent will have to
be recast, and instead of the pres
ent system of haphazard building
IN already overcrowded centers, in
dustries will be redistributed
throughout the country. Before a
final choice for great works is made
due consideration will be paid to
the housing facilities available
around the works for those who
will be employed in them.
Probably some redrafting of the
local government machinery will be
made to meet new conditions. At
present municipal affairs are split
up to an almost incredible degree
Little parish councils of the utmost
unimportance have the final word
In plans which may affect large
districts simply because those plans
impinge on their own little domain.
Local Government Idea.
Under Lord Reith's scheme the
country probably will be cut into a
number of large sections where the
local government idea will be MAIN
tained because the municipal gov
ernment of the sections will be in
the hands of people locally elected.
These local leaders in their turn
would operate under the overriding
authority of national administra-
ton, no doubt Lord Reiths Min
istry of Works and Buildings.
This is gigantic task of which
I have touched only the fringe
1t will be a fascinating undertak-
ing to follow. 1t is to be hoped that
the work will not be rushed. 1t is
to be hoped, too, that the pro1teer
will be kept as much at arms length
in the postwar reconstruction years
as he is now. If so, perhaps within
the next 10 years those of us who
are still alive may see something
of what William Blake had in mind