Interview with Brian Brookman

Brian Brookman recalls his interview by Alan Ashton, Chief Estates Officer, for an MKDC post in land acquisition; he began work there in June 1969. He concentrated first on acquisition of the 18,500 acres of rural land for future development; he recalls some of the problems encountered, and use of compulsory purchase orders. Most land was acquired through negotiation and compensation; he describes the process, including details of the Myers case, which involved a Lands Tribunal, and the Court of Appeal. Brian felt sympathy for the farmers giving up their land, but says: ‘I felt that my priority, was for the people who …would move from absolutely appalling conditions into brand new homes’. He remembers the early days working at MKDC, mentioning Walter Ismay (first General Manager), Alan Ashton, Fred Roche and Derek Walker. They discuss the ‘avant garde’ housing running from Galley Hill and Fullers Slade through to Netherfield and Tinkers Bridge.

In 1973/74 Brian began to work on private housing; he talks of ‘the total change in the government philosophy of housing …stopping public authorities from building rental housing’ under Margaret Thatcher government from 1979. Fred Roche proposed equity-sharing shared ownership housing to benefit those who couldn’t afford to buy a new house and Brian was asked to develop schemes; two ‘Equity Share’ scheme were submitted to and approved by the Department of the Environment (DoE). Brian was appointed Manager of a new Private Housing Unit. After initial difficulties, progress was good: shared ownership was popular. MKDC aimed to build 1,500 houses a year and Brian describes how they got the volume housebuilders ‘on board’, by regular meetings with ‘The Volume House-Builders Study Group’. He stresses the importance MKDC placed on quality of builders and architects and explains MKDC’s financing of private housing developments. Brian believes that if private house-building had been started earlier, MKDC could have built more houses. Finally, Brian comments on what he sees as the reduced standards of today’s housing.