Interview with Frederick Cornford (b.1922).
Frederick Cornford was an original resident in this area since 1946 and was a Wolverton Urban District Councillor. He was possibly one of the first people to hear that Richard Crossman was going to announce the New Town designation in Buckinghamshire in 1966. Remembers that Richard Crossman, Bob Mellish and Bob Maxwell visited all council offices to explain the plan, no questions were invited. The Pooley plan had already been in the public domain for about five years and no one had taken up the idea of a ‘monorail city’, and with the designation this plan was effectively abandoned. For the first two years the local councils were in competition with each other trying to get their share of what was on offer. Wolverton Urban District Council were at loggerheads with Bob Maxwell. There were no tangible benefits to Wolverton and the only visible sign of new development was the Agora.
He recalls that Newport the biggest opposers of the plan were also the biggest losers, as much of Milton Keynes was built on Newport Rural District land. Business expansion was not encouraged, as it was felt that the Works and McCorquodales had sufficient employment to sustain Wolverton, although the development of ‘Copperads’ did proceed. He recalls the decline in local trade following both the completion of the Agora and the opening of the central shopping area. F.C. refers to the various social societies and sports clubs that have continued in Wolverton, and expresses his opinion that public transport had changed for the worse and that Wolverton residents had missed out on new housing to the newcomers.
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