Features The application of replanning and redistributions of awkward lots along the German land pooling method (Lex Adickes, 1902) was used. This method was not a common instrument in Britain, however ‘town planning schemes’ were commonly practiced among town planners in Britain; he combined both approaches.
and Public Works Department to implement such schemes. A further requirement was that survey maps (in particular topographic maps and lithographs) were required to be upto-date for the replanning exercise. Reade’s early success, through the ATPC, in garnering such cooperation greatly facilitated development in Kuala Lumpur; all these despite the 1923 planning legislature not been fully operational before 1925. In his yearly departmental report he recorded the shortage of staff and the long hours the planning department had to overcome to satisfy various landowners and the Sanitary Boards (of Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Seremban)9.
TOWN PLANNING ENACTMENT, 1923 AND TOWN PLANNING SCHEMES10
The Town Planning Enactment of 1923 which he introduced was largely aimed at prevention (through General Town Plan), with little supporting measures for curing current urban ills (slums and poor subdivisions). General Town Plans were to be further detailed through Town Planning Schemes. The enactment was weakly supported by existing land law related to compensation, betterment, injurious affection, sales, exchange, surrender, leasing of land etc. Further, the government’s poor financial support finally betrayed Reade’s enthusiasm and intentions. Reade however recorded numerous success at replanning schemes11. The number of planning schemes by principal Sanitary Board’s limits were: Kuala Lumpur 28, Ipoh 23, Seremban 10, Klang 6, and Port Swettenham 4, etc12 . Although the government appeared concerned with both curing and prevention of urban ills in the FMS towns, it lacked commitment to invest adequate financial outlay for
such planning schemes. The lack of funds for constructing new roads in the planning schemes was a recurrent complaint from landowners (Malay Mail, 1926). Thus, curing without financial outlay poses a greater obstacle to solving the issue. Reade’s initial suggestion that part of the solution could be obtained through exchanges of state land with those of private owners was a novel idea, through replanning and redistribution, an idea he learned from Germany (Lex Adickes, 1902). Further the Sanitary Board model and the Municipal model of Europe were largely different in regard of power of execution, where redistribution (or land pooling in Germany) was legislated within the municipal body (the city of Frankfurt leading the way). Thus he soon encountered oppositions from landowners largely lacking in public interest or civic concerns, despite achieving success through lengthy negotiation in others; a task he undertook on numerous occasions due to the unavailability of the Town Planning Administrator for Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh (a post assigned to the Collector of Land Revenue as provided in the Town Planning Enactment, 1923)13. Replanning and redistribution was an idea far in advance of its time, and in Malaya it proved difficult to implement given the small number of trained professionals in land replotting (he had to train surveyors and engineers seconded to the department), and a lack of public interest ideology among land owners frustrate such tasks. Further as each scheme were being processed and implemented over a number of years until full completion, it therefore necessitated a well-maintained system of plan and updating record arrangement (see scheme number 3 illustrated in this article).
6 Courses on Town Planning, however, were offered much earlier in Germany within the engineering schools. Indeed Lex Adickes, a planning methodology for replanning and land redistribution was already been implemented in 1902 in Frankfurt. Reade subsequently embrace this method throughout his whole career, particularly in British Malaya. 7 See Veale (page 76, undated), Reade was actively involve in successfully opposing a Bill raised in the House of Commons during 1913, which had proposed ‘goods railway route’ encircling the north-western district of London, passing through Hampstead Garden suburb which if allowed would damaged other town planning schemes. For his contribution he was made recipient of the Suburb Trust and co-partners, Tenents Ltd., and other letters of appreciation from local authorities and prominent leaders. 8 See the Catalogue, Second Town Planning and Housing Exhibition In Ipoh, 1927 (kept at the Federal Town and Country Planning library, Kuala Lumpur). 9 It was only in 1925 that he reported having secured the full complement of temporary professional staff from the Public Work Department and the Survey Department. However, in 1927 he reported that such temporary arrangement was disadvantagous to such professionals from the point of view of promotion and career development, as they were been by-pass from their respective departments. 10 For a good discussion of the planning legislature see especially Lee Lik Meng, Abdul Mutalip Abdullah and Alip Rahim, Town Planning In Malaysia – History and Legislature (USM, 1990), and M.R. Bristow, Colonial Planning In Prewar Malaysia (1996). The writeup here only relates to planning schemes and its relation to replanning and redistribution, and the negotiation work with land owners. 11 See page 14 para 72 of the Fourth Annual Report of Government Town Planner, 1925. 12 See page 3 of Sixth Annual Report of Government Town Planner, 1926 13 The Collector of Land Revenue was witheld from this task due to the various duties required by the rubber restriction and other duties during the slump period of 1920s.Thus the planning department had to undertake not only replanning and redistribution tasks, but also negotiation with land owners.
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