New town planned and built to serve a
particular local industry, or as a dormitory
or overspill town for people who work in a
nearby metropolis. New towns in Britain
include Port Sunlight near Birkenhead
(Cheshire), built to house workers at Lever
Brothers soap factories. More recent examples
include Welwyn Garden City (1948),
Cumbernauld (1955), and Milton Keynes (1967).
Other new towns include Letchworth
(Hertfordshire), established in 1903,
Basildon (1949), Corby (1950), and Harlow
(1947). There are 31 such towns in the UK
planned by a government-financed corporation,
in cooperation with the local authority. When
they are completed, control passes to the New
Town Commission. Their populations will range
from 50,000 (Welwyn) to 250,000 (Milton
Keynes) by the end of the century. Problems
once caused by lack of social amenities for
early arrivals are now overcome by basing a
new town on an existing centre.