3a. LEARNING FROM PRECEDENTS Left: Welwyn Garden City; Above right: Bournville; Below right: Letchworth
The Welborne vision was shaped by careful analysis of the original Garden Cities and comparable planned settlements from past and present that are considered exemplars from a twentyfirst-century perspective. From urban design, to architecture, community infrastructure and approach to management, the Buckland project team examined the essential ingredients of these places and what makes them successful from a placemaking standpoint.The lessons distilled from this review informed Buckland’s approach to design, delivery and stewardship at Welborne.
BOURNVILLE The 650-hectare community outside Birmingham was established in the late nineteenth century by industrialist George Cadbury as a ‘model village’ for the workers of his chocolate factory. Almost since its creation, it has provided a model for long-term estate stewardship. The Bournville Village Trust (BVT) was created in 1900, as an independent charitable trust bound by a Deed to safeguard the future development of the village. The BVT manages the estate to this day, supported by an annual service charge; it maintains open spaces, BVT-owned footpaths and roads, and supports community initiatives such as lunchtime concerts and youth clubs. It uses tenancy terms and positive covenants to maintain high-quality public realm; residents altering the exterior of homes must secure permission from the Trust before proceeding to the Local Authority. The Trust is based in the neighbourhood, so its managers are immersed in the everyday life of Bournville.
LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY Founded in 1903, Letchworth Garden City in Hertfordshire was the first realisation of the Garden City movement. Letchworth is a model for Welborne in the close integration of its masterplan with the landscape. Its urban network correlated closely with the site’s characteristics; trees and hedgerows were retained, existing roads were incorporated and a large amount of open space was retained for careful landscaping. The principle was to merge the traditional divide between town and country, creating a place that embedded the amenities of the town (employment, local services etc) in the natural environment, just as Welborne aspires to be. 25