David Lock, Town Planner

Born in Sevenoaks, David Lock studied Town Planning at Nottingham College of Art and Design, one of the first generations of full-time undergraduate level town planning students. After graduation, he worked in Leicester City Council as a Development Control Officer: there he also e became NALGO Deputy Branch Secretary. In 1973, David joined the Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA), to establish Planning Aid, and became very interested in the New Towns Movement and the freedom people found in it. He gained further knowledge on planning problems from research and also collaborated on several books himself. He recalls meeting Lee Shostak in 1976, when Peter Shore, Planning and Housing Minister, was attacking the New Towns Movement. David says: ‘our whole purpose at TCPA, and that side of our activity, was now under attack, mostly unjustified’. David worked at Milton Keynes Development Corporation (MKDC) from 1978 to 1983. Since setting up his own practice in 1989, he has also done a considerable amount of work in MK.