Interview with Frank Henshaw part 2

In part 2 of the interview Frank discusses his working relationship with the MKDC architects; he was concerned about the amount of flat-roofed housing being built, driven both by enthusiasm from the architects, and government pressure to build houses quickly. In Frank’s opinion, it led to grid squares being almost entirely rented, rather than mixed tenure as in the MK Master Plan. He recalls the need to re-roof Beanhill in the early 1980s, leading to a dispute with architect Norman Foster’s practice, who were sued successfully for the cost. Frank believes that MK Council should gradually redevelop sections of the early estates, to produce ‘an environment that people will take a pride in’. He would advise other new town builders: ‘Avoid huge, monolithic estates… introduce more variety’. They discuss grid road reservations and MKDC’s decision to have wide reservation, for a ‘garden city’ effect and to allow later dualing. Frank gives his views on the current idea of development being brought closer to the grid roads; he regrets that since MKDC ended, no major piece of infrastructure has been added.

They discuss the financing of MKDC by loans from the Treasury – at rapidly increasing interest rates, which they were initially obliged to take. Later, they were permitted to raise money on the market. Frank remembers having to persuade the government that flexibility was needed on the housing cost yardstick for MK. Under the Thatcher government from 1979, MKDC’s programme of building 3,000 social housing units a year ended, as government funding ceased. MKDC proposed what Frank describes as ‘an ambitious new programme of shared-ownership housing, with some government funding’. After 18 months that funding also ceased; so MKDC’s executive team formed the Milton Keynes Housing Association. Frank says: ‘We sought and found the funding and continued a shared-ownership programme from 1983’. Asked what he is proud of in MK, Frank says: ‘In MK …something that actually can’t be seen – the underground cabling of all services’ and describes how this was achieved. He accepts that significant contributions he made are the MK contract process; building up a contractor base to build the place; setting up a housing association; and ‘getting those houses re-roofed’.