ABSTRACT
The 1950s were something of a watershed for postwar planning. At issue was the question as to whether the new apparatus would be dismantled in the wake of a general public backlash against governmental restrictions and controls, or whether the foundations (laid in the 1940s) in the form of new town designations and development plan preparations could be built upon. In fact, the politics of this decade determined something between these extremes, neither the sweeping away of the new planning machinery nor the creation of a model environment. For the TCPA it was a frustrating period, full of activity but in many ways adding up to a defensive role, seeking to hold the ground and to make the best of what was politically possible. Dispersal policies remained at the heart of the campaign, but by the end of the decade the verdict was mixed; the campaigners could record progress on some fronts (notably, the building of new towns and the designation of green belts) but successive governments had still to grasp the nettle of regional planning.
