Interview with Cynthia Hargate and Stroud Watson

Cynthia describes her early days at MKDC, remembering early staff members; she recalls Jock Campbell as passionate about getting Social Development correct. She prepared the first policy paper: ‘A 7-Year Strategy for Arts & Culture in Milton Keynes’, based on the broad goals in the Master Plan. She worked with Inter-Action Arts Trust, who engaged Liz Leyh as one of their community artists; Liz was the first Artist in Residence in MK, sculptor of the ‘concrete cows’. She recalls Edna Read and her programmes Prints for People and Art in the Workplace, and art commissions supported by the Arts Council. She loved her work with numerous community groups, setting up workshops. She met her husband Stroud Watson at the first Jazz Festival at The Stables, Wavendon. Stroud had arrived at MKDC in 1975, and worked on the architecture of South MK. In 1977, working on a plan for the future of MK, it was difficult to set ground rules for its growth; and he was asked to form ‘an urban design group to look at overall structure of the city’. Their report ‘Connections’ was finished in 1979; it was critical of parts of the Master Plan and they were asked to revise it. However, many recommendations in the introduction were adopted in the book ‘City Structure’. Stroud comments: ‘The worst thing I did was convince Cynthia to leave in 1981 to return to America, because…I could see things were changing’; he wanted to teach urban design. In Chattanooga now, he is educating students on city and community designs.

They recall the ‘arrogance’ of some MK architects; Cynthia notes: Stroud’s proposals were never accepted by EMC, although Stroud acknowledges support from some colleagues for ideas about grid connections and local centres; he praises MKDC staff overall. Cynthia talks of her early role in the setting up of Stantonbury Campus and appointments of Hilary Davan Wetton (Head of Music) and Roy Nevitt (Head of Drama). She praises both for their commitment to community involvement; Roger Kitchen worked with Roy on local history dramas such as ‘All Change!’ She recalls that Stantonbury Theatre had 95% capacity audiences in the early days, and attributes its success to grassroots development of arts and cultural activities. Both comment on Milton Keynes’ successes, particularly the quality of life, parks, and that ‘people keep coming’.