Planning for major urban expansion: A case study in the UK's M4 growth corridor

Abstract

A previous article in Planning Practice and Research 'Swindon: a suitable place for expansion' discussed the background to the Northern Sector development and some of the issues raised. As an example of a comprehensive private-sector-led development, twice the size of more-publicised new settlement proposals, the scheme represented a significant challenge to the capacity of the statutory planning system to respond to the demands of development on this scale, with implementation running well beyond the then agreed strategic planning framework. Also at issue was the funding of infrastructure and social provision for the projected population of around 24 000 people to be accommodated in the development. At the time of the original article the outcome of the planning application for the scheme was still awaited. Development on the site is now underway, but only after a difficult and protracted period of negotiation between the developers and the local authority. The troubled history of the Swindon Northern Sector is therefore illustrative of the kinds of difficulties that might be encountered in private-sector-led 'new settlements', in which there is renewed policy interest. This article updates the story of the Swindon Northern Sector, setting the development in the wider context of town expansion in Swindon during the post-war period and discussing some of the main elements of its troubled progress. It also outlines the emerging conflict over continued growth and expansion in the town. It is illustrative of planning difficulties over major new housing development being experienced more generally in a number of areas. Finally, we put forward an alternative model for managing significant urban growth that seems to us to provide a more effective basis for dealing with planned expansion in areas under pressure. The article draws on a comprehensive study of growth and change in Swindon over the last 25 years building on earlier work which outlined the development of Swindon in the post-war period.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 1998
• Deposit Date: Dec 13, 2019
• Journal: Planning Practice and Research
• Print ISSN: 0269-7459
• Electronic ISSN: 1360-0583
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 371-388
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459815941
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/3899731