Ministry of Town and Country Planning

The Ministry of Town and Country Planning was a ministry established in 1943 by the Churchill war ministry, the government of the United Kingdom at the time. Its remit covered England and Wales. It was established to secure "consistency and continuity in the framing and execution of a national policy with respect to the use and development of land throughout England and Wales".^[1] The first minister was William Morrison, previously the Postmaster General.

Maps Office

The ministry had a Maps Office established under the leadership of Christie Willatts. Willatts had previously worked for the Land Use Survey of Britain (LUS) before taking up the role of Research Maps Officer at the Ministry of Works and Buildings.^[2] However, when the new Ministry was founded he became Head of the Maps Office, while still contributing to the LUS.^[2] He and his team provided significant supported James Alfred Steers in preparing a report on the coastline of England and Wales for the Ministry.^[3]

Ministers of Town and Country Planning

Dissolution in 1951

In 1951 the ministry was combined with certain functions of the Ministry of Health to create the Ministry of Local Government and Planning. However following the defeat of the Labour Party in the 1951 United Kingdom general election the third Churchill ministry renamed the body the Ministry of Housing and Local Government.^[4]

References

1. Presthus, R. Vance (1951). "British Town and Country Planning: Local Participation". The American Political Science Review. 45 (3): 756–769. doi:10.2307/1951163. ISSN 0003-0554. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
2. Wise, Michael (2000). "Dr E.C 'Christie' Willatts, OBE 1908-2000: An obituary". Geography. 85 (2): 166–166. ISSN 0016-7487. Archived from the original on 2023-06-25. Retrieved 2023-06-25.
3. Steers, J. A. (1944). "Coastal Preservation and Planning". The Geographical Journal. 104 (1/2): 7–18. doi:10.2307/1790025. ISSN 0016-7398. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
4. Cullingworth, J.B. (1999). British planning: 50 years of urban and regional policy. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-485-00604-9. Retrieved 22 May 2011.