Sir Wilfred Burns (11 April 1923 – 4 January 1984) was a British
town planner
An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning.
An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...
, described as "a key figure in British post-war planning".
[ Gordon Cherry, ''Wilfred Burns 1923-1984: a memorial note'', Town Planning Review, vol.55 no.4, October 1984]
Retrieved 20 January 2013
Life and career
Burns was born at
Farnworth
Farnworth is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, southeast of Bolton, 4.3 miles south-west of Bury (7 km), and northwest of Manchester.
Historically in Lancashire, Farnworth lies on the River ...
, near
Bolton
Bolton (, locally ) is a large town in Greater Manchester in North West England, formerly a part of Lancashire. A former mill town, Bolton has been a production centre for textiles since Flemish weavers settled in the area in the 14th centu ...
,
Lancashire, moving to
Ulverston as a child following his father's death. After attending
Ulverston Grammar School, he studied
civil engineering at
Liverpool University, and undertook war service in the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
*Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
*Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
* Admiralty, Traf ...
. He began work in
local government for
Leeds City Council, before moving to
Coventry City Council
Coventry City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Coventry in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974.
The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors. Coventry ...
in 1949 where he was a member of the team working on the redevelopment of the city after
its bombing. Following a period working for
Surrey County Council
Surrey County Council is the county council administering certain services in the non-metropolitan county of Surrey in England. The council is composed of 81 elected councillors, and in all but one election since 1965 the Conservative Party h ...
, he moved to
Newcastle upon Tyne City Council
Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the 26 wards in the city. It is currently controlled by the Labou ...
as its chief planning officer in 1960.
[
At Newcastle, he took charge of a newly created department - one of the first planning departments in the country - and worked closely with the city council's political leader, ]T. Dan Smith
Thomas Daniel Smith (11 May 1915 – 27 July 1993), also known by his nickname “Mr Newcastle”,"Southern Discomfort" (leading article), ''The Times'', 3 August 1993. was a high-profile British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who ser ...
. With Smith's support, he proposed, in the 1961 ''Plan for the Centre of Newcastle'' and the 1963 ''Development Plan Review'', the demolition and redevelopment of many of the city's areas of old terraced housing and their replacement by new blocks of flats
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
. These would be connected and supported by an improved and largely new road system, giving priority to traffic movement and separating pedestrians onto walkways
In American English, walkway is a composite or umbrella term for all engineered surfaces or structures which support the use of trails.
'' The New Oxford American Dictionary'' also defines a walkway as "a passage or path for walking along, esp. a ...
. At the same time, the plan sought to conserve historic areas. However, Burns wrote that "the city centre must cater to the maximum extent possible for car traffic". In this approach, Burns was influenced by the American architect Victor Gruen
Victor David Gruen, born Viktor David Grünbaum
retrieved 25 February 2012
, and the proposals for Newcastle were sometimes referred to as creating "the Brasilia of the North".[ Jon Gower Davies, ''The Evangelistic Bureaucrat'', Taylor & Francis, 1972, pp.113-122"> Jon Gower Davies, ''The Evangelistic Bureaucrat'', Taylor & Francis, 1972, pp.113-122]
/ref>[ John Griffiths, ''Building the Brasilia of the North: T Dan Smith and Wilfred Burns in 1960s Newcastle upon Tyne'', IPHS Conference, Istanbul, 12-15 July 2010]
Retrieved 20 January 2013[ ''Reinventing the City: 1914 - 1980'']
Retrieved 20 January 2013[ John Robert Gold, ''The Practice of Modernism: Modern Architects and Urban Transformation, 1954-1972'', Taylor & Francis, 2007]
The local newspaper, the '' Evening Chronicle'', stated:"The output of his department became prodigious. One radical plan after another - for new building, new roads, motorways, shopping centres, precincts - emanated from Mr Burns and his hardworking dedicated planning team. Reactions varied. Politicians became aerated with the visions of the future..."
In 1968, Burns was appointed as chief planner at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, becoming Deputy Secretary at the Department of the Environment
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...
(DoE) in 1971, with responsibility for integrating national land use and transport planning policy.[ He left the DoE in 1982, to become the deputy chairman of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, and also served on national committees on the future of the planning system and on urban priority areas.][
He was elected President of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1967. He was appointed a ]CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in the 1967 New Year Honours
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, a CB in the 1972 Birthday Honours
The 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments to orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms to reward and highlight citizens' good works, on the occasion of the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. They were announced in supplemen ...
, and was knighted
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1980. London Gazette, no.48309, 15 September 1980
Retrieved 20 January 2013 He died in 1984 at the age of 60, after suffering from a heart condition.[
]
Bibliography
* ''British shopping centres: New trends in layout and distribution '' (1959)
* ''New towns for old: The technique of urban renewal'' (1963)
* ''Housing: A review of current problems and policies'' (1964)
* ''Newcastle-upon-Tyne: A Study in Replanning at Newcastle-upon-Tyne'' (1967)
* ''Traffic and transportation in Newcastle upon Tyne: A report'' (1967)
* ''Outlook for transport '' (1976)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burns (town planner), Wilfred
1923 births
1984 deaths
British urban planners
Presidents of the Royal Town Planning Institute
Knights Bachelor
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Companions of the Order of the Bath
Civil servants in the Ministry of Housing and Local Government