‘Conditions in landscape which the public as a whole wishes to see and enjoy’ – electricity generation, amenity and welfare in post-war Britain

In his 1975 article about planning and the Welfare State, Malcolm Harrison identified ‘specific social benefits’ as ‘possible welfare objectives’ of town and country planning in post-WW2 Britain. Some of these social benefits, such as the need for recreation, and the right to leisure facilities became key goals of Government policy and State-sponsored planning projects. Growing emphasis on leisure and recreation as part of an ‘improved quality of life’ and the increasing mobility and affluence also led to growing importance of opportunities for rural recreation and access to and preservation of the countryside. Through a series of case studies, this paper examines how these welfare objectives were materialized in the designed landscapes created around coal-fired power stations in Britain, commissioned by the nationalized Central Electricity Generating Board between 1957 and 1970. It will analyse how statutory duties towards workers’ welfare and environmental consciousness resulted in the involvement of the profession of landscape architecture, and how this helped the Board to navigate its duty to preserve the countryside as well as safeguarding the needs of communities.