Sir George Lionel Pepler (24 February 1882 – 13 April 1959) 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, tow ...

who was influential in the development of town planning practice in the first half of the twentieth century.

Life and career

George Pepler was born 24 February 1882 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, and was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is a private Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19 and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school was ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Scottish Archive Network: George Pepler
, Retrieved 17 January 2013 He trained as a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

, but became interested in development and town planning issues, and established a practice with Ernest G. Allen. From 1908, they were among the first to specialise in laying out new villages and housing estates for landowners. Pepler became a member of the Garden Cities Association (later the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive, informed by the Garden ...

), and of the National Housing and Town Planning Council. In 1914 he was a founding member of the Town Planning Institute (TPI). Also in 1914, as a member of the

Local Government Board The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919. The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 ( 34 & 35 Vict. c. 70) and took over the ...

, he was placed in charge of the Greater London Arterial Road Conferences. In 1919, he was appointed Chief Town Planning Inspector to the Ministry of Health, a post which he held until 1941. He was then Chief Technical Adviser to the

Ministry of Town and Country Planning The Ministry of Town and Country Planning was a ministry established in 1943 by the Churchill war ministry, the government of the United Kingdom at the time. Its remit covered England and Wales. It was established to secure "consistency and contin ...

from 1943 to 1946. In these posts he was responsible for persuading local authorities of the importance of town planning for communities, and then, after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, for their overall responsibility for guiding the process of post-war housing and physical reconstruction.ArchivesHub: Papers of Sir George Pepler
Retrieved 17 January 2013 Pepler was largely responsible for preparing the

Town and Country Planning Act 1947 The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 51) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the Labour government led by Clement Attlee. It came into effect on 1 July 1948, and al ...

, which gave a leading role to town planning within central and local government, and enshrined the concept of the

green belt A green belt or greenbelt is a policy, and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts ...

. He later took on planning consultancy roles in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, and between 1950 and 1954 for the

Government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in 1955–58. He became President of the TPI in 1919–20, and uniquely served for a second term in 1949–50, as well as acting as the organisation's Secretary and Treasurer at different times. He also received the organisation's Gold Medal. He chaired both the Town Planning Joint Examination Board and the Town and Country Planning Summer School for many years. He was President of the International Federation for Housing and Town Planning in 1935–38, and again between 1947 and 1952 before becoming its Honorary President for life. He was also active in the

National Playing Fields Association Fields in Trust is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

, and in the Council for the Preservation of Rural England. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1948. He died in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

at the age of 77.

Legacy

The George Pepler International Award was established by the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was granted ...

in 1973, and is awarded to a person aged under 30 undertaking research in some aspect of town planning. Planning Resource, ''International prize open for entries'', 18 May 2012
Retrieved 17 January 2013

Life and career

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading