Britain: An official handbook > 1956

BRITAIN: AN OFFICIAL HANDBOOK
360
planning into reality. By the end of September 1955 the total population of the new
towns in England and Wales, designed to be 545,000 when the towns are completed,
had reached the figure of approximately 260,000 (including the people previously
living in the area); a total of 34,300 houses had been built by the development
corporations with a further 12,500 under ^construction; 190 factories had been
established and a further 58 were being erected; 465 shops had been completed and
245 more were being built; 63 schools had been finished and 33 more were under
construction. Many miles of roads have been laid, and large main sewerage works
have kept pace with housing needs.
In the Scottish new towns, by the same date, 4,578 houses had been built by the
development corporations with a further 1,675 under construction; 44 shops had
been completed and 31 were under construction; four new schools were in use and
the building of a further five was in progress; and the extension of communica¬
tions and public services was under way.
Under the New Towns Acts of 1946, 1952, 1953 and 1955, Parliament approved a
consolidated fund of £250 million to provide for advances to the development
corporations for work on the new towns. By September 1955, £156 million of
expenditure from this amount had been approved by the Minister of Housing and
Local Government and the Secretary of State for Scotland.
National Parks, Access to the Countryside and Nature Conservation
The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949, provided for the
designation of a number of extensive areas of beautiful and relatively wild country
in England and Wales as National Parks. The characteristic landscape of these
areas is to be carefully preserved, and facilities for open-air recreation are to be
improved or provided.
A National Parks Commission for England and Wales was set up by the Act of
1949, and by the end of October 1955 its work had resulted in the establishment of
the first eight of the 12 National Parks recommended by the National Parks
(England and Wales) Committee, which reported in 1947. The Commission has
also submitted, to the Minister of Housing and Local Government, Orders
designating most of the upland country of Northumberland (from the Cheviots in
the north to the Roman wall in the south), and the Brecon Beacons (in South Wales),
as National Parks.
The established parks are: the Peak District, the Lake District, Snowdonia in
North Wales, Dartmoor in Devonshire, the Pembrokeshire Coast, the North York
Moors, the Yorkshire Dales, and Exmoor in Somerset and Devon. These parks
cover a total area of 4,333 square miles. Administrative systems are now in opera¬
tion for six of the parks, as follows: the Peak District and Lake District National
Parks are administered by Joint Planning Boards; for Dartmoor, the Pembrokeshire
Coast and the North York Moors, special Park Planning Committees of the county
councils concerned have been set up; while in Snowdonia, each of the county
councils concerned with the National Park, i.e. Caernarvonshire, Merionethshire
and Denbighshire, has a special Park Planning Committee of the county council in
respect of that part of the Park which falls within its area, and a Joint Advisory
Council tenders advice to the three councils in planning matters.
The Commission may also select other areas in England and Wales for designa¬
tion as areas of outstanding natural beauty in order to keep them unspoiled. These
areas may be less extensive than the National Parks and no special administrative
system needs to be set up for their planning. The Commission has begun a review
of these areas and is likely to designate the first in the near future.
A Scottish National Parks Working Party has considered all five areas recom-