Page 159 - Redditch People

Redditch People

Sir Edward Thompson JP, MA (Eng)

The first Chairman of the Redditch
Development Corporation

Sir Edward Thompson was the first Chairman of the
Redditch Development Corporation, the body
charged with executing the plan to create the New
Town.

In that post his first task was to make key
appointments and to establish the development
Corporation as a functioning concern.

- 1985

Sir Edward Thompson JP, MA
(Eng)

(Source: Redditch – Success in the

Source/Researched by: Success in the Heart of England by Gordon Anstis

Life and Times of Sir Edward Thompson JP, MA (Eng)

Sir Edward Thompson led 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
his 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;

© RLHS 2015 Page: 159