The preparation of town planning schemes in the Metropolitan Police District, excluding the county of London, 1909–1934

This article examines the key issues and operational problems which arose when the district councils in the Metropolitan Police District prepared town planning schemes between 1909 and 1934. Their positive response was perhaps surprising bearing in mind that the planning system introduced in 1909 was cumbersome, tightly constrained and time consuming, that no provision was made for exercising control over built up areas, that town and regional planning were in their infancy both as a professional activity and fields of academic study, and that it was not until the 1920s that the Ministry of Health issued detailed guidance on the preparation, form and content of town planning schemes. Despite these problems, 73% of the Metropolitan Police District was subject to interim planning control by 1933. This provided a planning framework which was apparently accepted by most landowners judging from the small number of planning appeals that were lodged and the even smaller number that were upheld. They were, however, unable to overcome the problems presented by the statutory provisions for compensation, and thus prevent the wave of residential development which took place in the Metropolis and surrounding Home Counties.