The Royal Commission on London Squares, also known as the Londonderry Commission, was a royal commission created in 1927 regarding the urban open spaces of London, England. Its report in 1928 led to the enactment of the London Squares Preservation Act 1931 (21 & 22 Geo. 5. c. xciii). [1] [2]
The terms of reference of the commission were:
"To inquire and report on the squares and similar open spaces existing in the area of the administrative county of London with special reference to the conditions on which they are held and used and the desirability of their preservation as open spaces and to recommend whether any or all of them should be permanently safeguarded against any use detrimental to their character as open spaces, and, if so, by what means and on what terms and conditions." [3]
The commission was chaired by Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, the Marquess of Londonderry. [4]
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 equivalent entity may be termed a commission of inquiry.
The new towns in the United Kingdom were planned under the powers of the New Towns Act 1946 and later acts to relocate people from poor or bombed-out housing following the Second World War. Designated new towns were placed under the supervision of a development corporation, and were developed in three waves. Later developments included the 'expanded towns': existing towns which were substantially expanded to accommodate what was called the "overspill" population from densely populated areas of deprivation.
Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the original dominions under the Balfour Declaration of 1926, and accordingly enjoyed a constitutional status equivalent to the other dominions of the time. Its dominion status was confirmed by the Statute of Westminster, 1931, although the statute was not otherwise applicable to Newfoundland.
Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry,, styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peer and politician. He is best remembered for his tenure as Secretary of State for Air in the 1930s and for his attempts to reach an understanding with Nazi Germany. In 1935 he was removed from the Air Ministry but retained in the Cabinet as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Lords.
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The Land Drainage Act 1930 was an act of Parliament passed by the United Kingdom Government which provided a new set of administrative structures to ensure that drainage of low-lying land could be managed effectively. It followed the proposals of a royal commission which sat during 1927.
Sir William George Toop Goodman KBE MICE MIEE MIEAust, was an engineer and administrator who supervised the installation of New Zealand's first electric tramway and went on to oversee the foundation and growth of the Municipal Tramways Trust in Adelaide, South Australia.
The Electric Lighting Acts 1882 to 1909 are acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Brunswick Park is a 4-acre (1.6 ha) public park located in Camberwell, in South East London, and is managed by the London Borough of Southwark. Originally a private square, the park was opened to the public in 1907.
The London Squares Preservation Act 1931 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that aimed to improve the protection afforded to squares in London.
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