Konrad Smigielski’s Leicester Traffic Plan

Konrad Smigielski was the Chief Planning Officer for Leicester City Council between 1962 and 1972. In this time he produced plans both for the city and the wider area. One of the most renowned and influential was the 1964 Traffic Plan which looked to implement a city free from traffic in an age when car usage was exploding. Smigielski saw that traffic was to become a problem within the city due to the motor revolution taking place across the country. The plan was based on the Buchanan Report Traffic in Towns (released a year earlier) which suggested that cars were going to become one of the biggest problems of the rest of the century, both for pedestrians and the environment.

Smigielski could only envisage two solutions: enormous motorways which could have been as many as 16 lanes wide; or limiting the access of private motor vehicles to the city by providing more public transport, which would only require 4-6 lanes of motorway within the city. In reality, as he stated, there was only one realistic solution; limiting the use of the motor car and providing the city with an Integrated Transport System. Smigielski’s system would include a park and ride as far out as Kibworth (approximately 11 miles away), short-stay city centre parking, more efficient public transport systems, and separating traffic and people. The Plan also included more utopian ideas, such as a monorail to replace busses in the central area and pedestrian conveyors similar to those inside the old market place and at airports.

The monorail as it would have looked like in Charles Street.

 

The Traffic Plan attracted attention from across the country for a number of reasons. The Plan itself was backed up by statistics collected in a new way; Smigielski employed a group of women who interviewed residents and visitors about their car use habits as opposed to simply counting cars. Furthermore, the idea of a monorail city was revolutionary, taking into account both congestion and environmental concerns.

Unfortunately for Smigielski, the Traffic Plan was never fully realised. The monorail was shelved due to the perceived inefficiency of this mode of transport and pedestrian conveyors were only ever implemented within the indoor market. However, pedestrianisation was slowly introduced around the clock tower area, and is expected to continue in the future, and a park and ride was introduced in 1997. When Smigielski returned to the city in 1999, he claimed he was ‘delighted’ to have seen Leicester implement some of his ideas.

Sources:

British Library, Millennium Memory Bank, W. K. Smigielski, b. 1908, recorded 1999.

K. Smigielski, Leicester Traffic Plan, (Leicester, 1964).

 

Author – Lauren Rowe.

 

 

Imperial Typewriters: A Leicester Company

Imperial Typewriters were a company that operated in Leicester between 1902 and 1975. The company was set up by Hidalgo Moya, a migrant from the United States. The factory had a vital role during both wars. During World War One it became a munitions factory, producing weapons for use on the front line, and during the Second World War typewriter production was ‘of the highest priority’, shipping 150,000 typewriters to the armed services alone.

The Imperial Typewriter building on East Park Road in 2004.

Imperial were a large employer within the city with 2500 employees in 1961 and 1800 at closure in 1975. They were also an industry leader exhibiting at least twice at the British Industries Fair during the 1920s and once in the 1940s, each time taking state-of-the-art typewriters that had interchangeable keyboards specifically adapted to the industry in which they were required and in a range of languages. Furthermore, in 1970 they had the highest export numbers in the country and won the Queen’s Golden Medallion.

However, by the 1970s, the fortunes of Imperial Typewriters were going downhill. In 1967, the company was brought out by Litton Industries of the USA for a reported $7.7 million. They owned a number of companies within the sector including in Germany and Japan whose economies were booming and where materials and labour were cheaper. By 1975, the Leicester factory was unsustainable and production ceased. Litton cited the rise in use of personal computers and competition from Germany and Japan as the issue alongside ‘making annual losses since it was taken over in 1967.’

The most notorious period in the history of Imperial Typewriters was the strike of 1974. Four hundred Asian workers went on strike for 13 weeks during this period claiming they were facing discrimination in both their pay and promotional opportunities. This was a common occurrence throughout the country at this point as migrants fought for the same rights and opportunities as their white co-workers. Some blamed the strike for the eventual closure of Imperial, but there is no evidence for this.

Sources:

EMOHA, BBC Radio Leicester, RL_1829, Imperial Typewriters, 1975.

Grace’s Guide, ‘Imperial Typewriters, (2015), <http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Imperial_Typewriter_Co&gt;

Media Archive for Central England (MACE), ‘ATV Today: Imperial Typewriters Meeting’, 23 January 1975.

University of Leicester Special Collections, ‘Imperial Typewriter Company Closure: Newspaper Reports, 1975’ (Guardian & Leicester Mercury Articles)

Author: Tom Marlow

British United Shoe Machinery

British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd. was the head office in Leicester of a company which for most of the 20th century was the world’s largest manufacturer of footwear machinery and materials, exporting shoe machinery to more than 50 countries.

During the nineteenth century, many shoe manufacturing processes were mechanised and the resulting numerous small factories merged over time. In 1882, Tomlin and Sons of Leicester, cutlery and shoe machinery manufacturer, and William Pearson of Leeds were acquired by Merry and Bennion, which by the mid-1890s was a leading supplier of UK shoe machinery. Renamed Pearson and Bennion, in 1898 it moved to the new Union Works factory in Belgrave Road Leicester.

In February 1899, the three major US shoe machinery companies, Goodyear Machinery Company, Consolidated Hand Lasting Machine Company and McKay Shoe Machinery Company merged to form United Shoe Machinery (USM).

Pearson and Bennion’s managing director, Charles Bennion went to Boston to negotiate a merger and the company which would eventually become BUSM was incorporated in October 1899 with the Union Works factory as its headquarters.

After a year, a further 10 acres of land was purchased in 1901 from the Belgrave Road Cricket and Bicycle Grounds, the former home of both Leicester Fosse FC and Leicester Tigers.

Despite the huge increase in demand for military footwear, World War One saw over 800 of the highly skilled workers joining the armed forces. Under the Munitions of War Act 1915, passed in response to the Shell Crisis of 1915, the company became a “Controlled Establishment” with workers’ pay and conditions very tightly regulated by the Ministry of Munitions. BUSM’s expertise in precision engineering led to orders for a range of military equipment including Naval gun mountings and aero engine parts as well as shells and fuses.

The company flourished throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War. By 1930 it had 12 UK sales and service branches, a valuable asset for customers before reliable car travel was available. Issued capital was seven times greater than 1899 and profits were ten times greater.

WW2 saw a much higher percentage of BUSM’s precision engineering capacity switched to manufacturing arms than in WW1. Products included Naval gun sights and the technically very demanding precision cast wheelhouse for the Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engine.

In the 1960s and 1970s, it was Leicester’s biggest employer employing more than 4,500 locally and 9,500 worldwide. Most of the workforce was recruited via an apprentice scheme which trained a large proportion of Leicester’s engineers. The company had “a respected reputation for technical innovation and excellence”. Between 1898 and 1960 it developed and marketed nearly 800 new and improved shoe machines and patented more than 9,000 inventions, at one time employing 5% of the UK’s patent agents.

The BUSM building on Ross Walk in 2007.

The collapse of the company in October 2000 destroyed the pensions of the workers. Their story became “one of the most vivid examples of what can go wrong with…Private Equity”. The company subsequently went into administrative receivership and was the subject of a management buyout. This new company itself went into administration in September 2006. In November 2006 a new independent company, Advent Technologies Ltd, was formed by former workers of BUSM providing technical support, advice and spare parts for the range of BUSM machinery.

In 2007 a planning application was made for 1210 houses on the former site on Ross Walk. The construction of new homes commenced in 2010 with the first residential occupiers of site moving there in 2011. The first phase of the development was completed in 2011. The second phase of the housing development is now underway.

Sources

Online:

www.buhistory.org.uk (website dedicated to those who worked there. Photos memoirs, videos and also the ability to contact people who worked there.

www.gracesguide.co.uk (timeline, pictures, posters and details of national newspaper articles)

www.28dayslater.co.uk/the-british-united-shoe-machinery-company-leicester-a-round-up.t44674 (photos, posters and plans of the factory as well as contemporary photos)

Wikipedia – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_United_Shoe_Machinery

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mattdonut/sets/72157616674800044/ (many contemporary photos)

Books:

Howie, Serving the Shoemaker for 100 Years (Walsall, 1999).

‘The City of Leicester: Footwear manufacture’, in A History of the County of Leicester: Volume 4, the City of Leicester, ed. R A McKinley (London, 1958), pp. 314-326 (via BHO).

Nash & D. Reeder (eds), Leicester in the Twentieth Century (Stroud, 1993),

• p. 50 (early history and a means of attracting capital to the city);
• 62 (Advert; company remaining strong when similar businesses decline and also decline);
• 68-9 (the loss of BUSM);
• 83 (decline of manufacturing).

Holyoak, But for These Things (Kibworth, 2014) p.127 (spitfire production and war effort)

Jordan, The Illustrated History of Leicester’s Suburbs (Derby, 2003) p. 7, 41 (about the amenities around the factory)

Couchman, Belgrave as I remember it (Loughborough, 1984)

A Brief Survey of Shoe Fashion Through the Ages, by British United Shoe Machinery Company Limited [N.D].

Author: Nidal Masri

 

 

 

Expo Leicester ’72

Expo Leicester ’72 was a five day event held in Abbey Park in Leicester from the 5^th-9^th September 1972 which sought to advertise the city’s diverse industries, celebrate the city’s past and look ahead to its possible future. There was an emphasis on the city’s industrial past and prowess, and plenty of showing off of Leicester brands. There was even a song created which sought to celebrate Leicester’s industrial nature:

“Leicester town where there’s dyeing and spinning

Heeling, soling and cold iron rolling.

Stockings, shirts and good tools too

Electrical machinery and a well made shoe.”

Looking back, the event’s focus on Leicester’s traditional industries is interesting as the Expo took place just before de-industrialisation would ultimately change the face of Leicester in the following 20 years.

The event also sought to show how Leicester was not just diverse in industry but that it was a diverse city as a whole, with there being an emphasis on the many leisure facilities in the city as well as showcasing how important sport was to the city with a focus on the range of sporting activities available to Leicester residents, as well as focusing on the city’s respective sporting teams who are referenced in the Leicester song. There was, additionally, a master plan which looked ahead to what Leicester would look like in the year 2000, which included an ambitious plan for a monorail to be built in the city, although this ultimately remained just a dream and was never implemented.

‘Ode to Leicester’ – EXPO 72

Leicester! Leicester! How we love thee!

Poised on the banks of the River Soar!

Leicester! Leicester! Home of beauty!

Who could dare to ask for more?

Leicester! Leicester! How we adore thee!

Industry and Farming are all here.

Leicester! Leicester! Home of Progress!

Who can fail to raise a cheer?

Leicester! Leicester! Centre of England!

Britain’s capital in all but name!

Leicester! Leicester! Home of all the virtues.

Only cads from Nottingham dare complain.

Leicester! Leicester! Modest as the violet

Brave as the lion when called to fight.

Leicester! Leicester! Home of Learning!

No need to argue – we know we’re right.

Leicester!

Leicester!

LONG LIVE LEICESTER!

LEICESTER!

LEICESTER!

L E I C E S T E R!!!

This ode was the opening of the stage show of Expo ’72. After the song, a narrator talked about the history of Leicester and demonstrated how enriched with history the city was, and this was illustrated by other songs and acts. This signalled Leicester’s importance in the history and development of the country, and its image as a thriving city. The attributes listed in the lyrics of the song include industry, farming, progress, beauty, virtue, modesty, bravery and education.  Moreover, an entire verse is dedicated to industry in Leicester and everything it produces, emphasising pride in the fact that the city was an exporter, with one song later stating, “export is our theme”.

Sources: Leicester Mercury Collection in the Special Collections of the David Wilson Library, University of Leicester.

Authors: Robert Durdin, Jack Hancock, Sabreena Jattan, Ellen Johnson, Brandon Minato, Ellie Porter, Emma Roberts, Nehal Sher-Gill, Amanda Snell, Helena Waddelove.

Courtesy of University of Leicester

Follow this link to see a picture of the record of the song – http://www.7tt77.co.uk/EXPO_LEICESTER_72.html

Leicester’s Industry in 1972

Reflecting national trends, in the 1970s Leicester faced economic decline for the first time since the war. In response, the Leicester Mercury published an edition dedicated to reviewing its industry in April 1972.

Leicester and the surrounding region had experienced industrial growth and prosperity up to 1972. From 1945 dominant industries in Leicester were engineering, textiles and clothing, and footwear. The major industrial employment sector was engineering, particularly. This sector was diverse and included metal, textile machinery (including hosiery and footwear), electrical and vehicle manufacture. Small businesses had started in post war Leicester and expanded. Some of these were independent but large national groups such as English Electric/GEC, the Rank Organisation, Thorn Lighting and many more were present in the city.

However not all industrial sectors were successful; during the same period employment in footwear had halved. Textiles and clothing had also stopped dominating the employment figures. The success of the engineering industry had stemmed unemployment by transferring jobs to another sector. One of the major changes that had occurred during this period was the concentration of ownership, with larger businesses such as Courtaulds buying smaller businesses. Secondly, there was a move out of the city towards industrial estates and areas such as Coalville and Wigston. With footwear, the specialisation of the industry, which catered for women and children, was not favourable as there had been a decline due to changing tastes in fashion. The shift to plastic and synthetic materials was not economical unless mass produced, leaving small businesses unable to be sustainable. Instead, Italian manufacturers led the fashion trends with Leicester following them behind.

More information about Leicester’s industrial past can be found at:

‘Manufacturing Pasts’ – http://www2.le.ac.uk/library/manufacturingpasts

‘The Story of Leicester’ – http://www.storyofleicester.info/cityheritage/atwork/

Source: Leicester Mercury Review of Industry Supplement 4th April 1972.

Authors: Robert Durdin, Jack Hancock, Sabreena Jattan, Ellen Johnson, Brandon Minato, Ellie Porter, Emma Roberts, Nehal Sher-Gill, Amanda Snell, Helena Waddelove.

The Southgates Underpass

The construction of the Southgates Underpass proved to be a controversial element in Leicester’s urban planning history. Commencing in August 1966, over 1,150 ft. in length was excavated for the Underpass. The Underpass became a source of controversy due primarily to its location in Leicester’s most historic district – the area around Southgate was one of the few areas of Leicester in which its medieval street plan was clearly still visible.

According to ‘Leicester Today & Tomorrow’ the redevelopment was undertaken to release 5 acres for newer development, to create a gateway into the city centre from the M1, and to provide a multi-storey car park that allowed for 1000 cars. The reasons for this reflect Leicester’s chief urban planner, Konrad Smigielski’s, ‘Leicester Traffic Plan’. This plan aimed to adapt the urban environment to the increasing population, car ownership, and traffic accommodation between 1964, when it was published, and 1995. The Southgates Underpass was completed in May 1968, yet the controversy lingers to this day.

Sources: ‘Leicester Today & Tomorrow’ by WK Smigielski, City Planning Officer, 1968.

Authors: Robert Durdin, Jack Hancock, Sabreena Jattan, Ellen Johnson, Brandon Minato, Ellie Porter, Emma Roberts, Nehal Sher-Gill, Amanda Snell, Helena Waddelove.

The Eastern Relief Road

The Eastern Relief Road was the proposed building of an inner-city motorway that was to run from Leicester’s London Road to Humberstone Road. The council’s policies aimed to balance roads, public transport and parking, whilst improving the environment. As a result, the creation of new roads was required, leading to the proposed Eastern Relief Road in the 1960s. However, a leaflet produced by the council for the public regarding the plans immediately stated the ‘undesirable side effects’, which included demolition, noise and rehousing.

The plans would affect the new St Matthews and new (proposed) St Marks estates, as well as the surrounding shops and businesses. Although the council aimed to reduce the noise created by the road by building it towards the edge of the Highfields residential area, and throwing up ‘tree studded landscaped earth embankments’ on either side of the carriageways, they could not ignore all the disadvantages to the plan, nor could they escape opposition to it. The plans meant the demolition of homes and shops, particularly where compulsory purchase was involved, which meant the enforced purchase of properties and buildings by the council for public use. Thus, the council required a Compulsory Purchase Order, followed by a public enquiry about the plans due to the criticism they received for the Purchase Order. A 28,000 signature petition against the plans was initiated by the public and this would be taken into account by the Secretary of State for the Environment who had to make a decision on the issue. In 1974, because of the criticism received and largely because of financial issues, the plans for the relief road were cancelled.

Sources: Leicester Mercury Collection in the Special Collections of the David Wilson Library, University of Leicester.

Authors: Robert Durdin, Jack Hancock, Sabreena Jattan, Ellen Johnson, Brandon Minato, Ellie Porter, Emma Roberts, Nehal Sher-Gill, Amanda Snell, Helena Waddelove.

An information leaflet about the Eastern Relief Road.

Clarendon Park Improvement Scheme

In 1971, Leicester City Council launched its General Improvement Scheme, established with the intention of giving a new lease of life to the dated but structurally sound areas of Victorian Leicester.

Clarendon Park was chosen as a starting point; of the 1750 houses in the area, some 800 lacked basic facilities such as a bathroom, an inside toilet or hot running water. Other problems were highlighted, including:

•      A shortage of parking space
•      Issues with traffic congestion
•      The general ‘drabness’ of the area (lack of greenery, open spaces, and play facilities)

Loans were available of up to £1000 for homeowners, which were matched by grants from the Council. As well as this, the Council decided for the first time to make public consultation a key part of the process. Initially, it was decided they would hold public meetings for residents to express their ideas and concerns. However, 400 people attended the chaotic first meeting, and it was clear a new system would need to be implemented. Clarendon Park was divided into 15 areas, and each section was appointed one leader. These 15 residents formed the Local Residents Association and would meet with the Department of Planning. The remaining residents were encouraged by the Council to contribute by decorating the outside of their buildings with hanging baskets of flowers and paint jobs.

There was also an accessible exhibition by the library on Clarendon Park Road, where Council representatives would answer residents’ queries and explain proposals.

It was decided the following plans would be enacted:

•      Street closures (blocking off Howard Road and Seymour Road to prevent through-traffic)
•      Implementation of a one-way system as a traffic calming measure
•      Demolition of industrial properties to create open spaces, and control the expansion of remaining industry in order to limit its effect on the neighbourhood
•      Planting of trees and shrubs, and the building of new paved spaces

This was the first of the Council’s schemes that placed an emphasis on residential consultation.

Sources: City of Leicester Housing Committee ‘Clarendon Park ‘General Improvement Area’, February 1971.

Authors: Robert Durdin, Jack Hancock, Sabreena Jattan, Ellen Johnson, Brandon Minato, Ellie Porter, Emma Roberts, Nehal Sher-Gill, Amanda Snell, Helena Waddelove.

Welcome

This is a webpage created by students at the University of Leicester. Each year students undertake a module on the Transformation of Leicester 1945-1980. This site aims to reflect some of their research and present it to the public.

The course tutor is Colin Hyde of the East Midlands Oral History Archive at the Centre for Urban History. Thanks to Emma Roberts for setting up the blog and for the class of 2014/15 for contributing the first posts.