Expanded Town: Aylesbury

County Hall, Aylesbury (Pooley’s Folly). Photo Tom Cordell

A walk looking at how Aylesbury was expanded in the 1960s to accommodate London’s overspill population

Saturday 23rd September, 1240hrs (rescheduled due to rail strikes)

Meet at Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station

If travelling from London, get the 1127 from Marylebone to Aylesbury Vale Parkway

In the years following World War Two, planning policy directed the dispersal of industry and population from London. This is a walk looking at one of the sites around the UK that Londoners were moved to. Alongside the better known story of the New Towns, London’s local government also negotiated with towns around England to accept its families and industries.

Drawing on original research from LCC and GLC archives, we’ll see how one small county town 40 miles from London was transformed into an Expanded Town. We’ll also see how ideas of comprehensive redevelopment transformed and protected the historic centre of Aylesbury.