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The HISTORY of REDDITCH New Town

The Redditch Development Corporation

In the beginning

The newly constituted Board of the Redditch Development Corporation, the body charged
with executing the plan to create the New Town, met for the first time on 17 June 1964
at the Council House, Birmingham. The principal items on its agenda concerned:
● The appointment of a General Manager.

● The search for suitable officers.

● The establishment of a Planning Committee.

● Arrangements for visits to other New Towns.

● The closure of the Redditch to Evesham railway line and the drastic reduction in the service
from Redditch to Birmingham.

● Liaison with Redditch Urban District Council.
● Procurement of large scale plans, aerial photographs and topographical models of the
Redditch area.

At a Special Meeting of the Board, the key
appointment of General Manager was made. Quite
exceptionally in the life of any organisation, they
were to remain unchanged as a team for the next
ten years, a factor which was to prove of immense
value to the effectiveness of the work of the
Corporation.

The establishment followed the pattern of existing
Development Corporations with some discretion
left to meet local needs. Chief Officers to be
appointed were: General Manager, Chief Architect
and Planner, Chief Engineer, Chief Finance Officer,
Chief Estates Officer; with two posts which were
given Chief Officer status later, Secretary to the
Board, and Legal Officer.
In other Corporations, Social Development
Officers were given Chief Officer status. In
The Chairman of the Board, Sir
Redditch the SDO worked under the aegis of the Edward Thompson JP, MA (Eng) a
Secretary to the Board in a multi-disciplinary role. distinguished industrialist; a Director
With hindsight and in view of community needs
of Barclay's Bank; former Chairman of
we should have established the Social the Birmingham Regional Hospital
Development Officer as a Chief Officer from the Board and a Shropshire Magistrate of
beginning. For the remainder of 1964, the Board long standing.
was concerned with a number of issues.

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