Skelmersdale: design and implementation of a British new town, 1961–1985

New towns were a cornerstone of the post-war British planning system, but despite being both praised and derided, are in reality little understood. Research has focused on a few iconic examples, such as Cumbernauld and Milton Keynes, neglecting other new towns. Recent proposals to establish new development corporations in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc mean that an examination of new town design and implementation is particularly timely. This article responds by assessing the design and implementation of Skelmersdale New Town, near Liverpool, a little-studied example designated in 1961 and built out by its development corporation until 1985. Skelmersdale’s design reflected the context of early 1960s modernism, embodying the priorities of its architect-planner, Hugh Wilson – full automobility, urban character and compactness – over the local context. The subsequent implementation of Wilson’s design demonstrated the development corporation’s dependence on central government: it succeeded in providing housing, industrial premises and road infrastructure, but struggled to achieve the planned-for urban character. Skelmersdale’s experience reveals that while comprehensive modernist planning was a powerful tool in creating housing and infrastructure, it was limited by its inability to fully predict future economic and political conditions, and by the shifting attention of central government.