THE first turf of the Cirencester Urban District Council’s new housing estate at Chesterton was cut by Mr A J Matthews, chairman of the council on Tuesday morning.

Actually, the initial work in connection with the scheme had begun on the site on Thursday and when the council met on the site on Tuesday they found that the field had been marked out with pegs and string and that workmen were engaged in clearing trees which flanked Chesterton Lane at the spot where one of the new roads is to be laid.

Mr Matthews said that as chairman of the council he felt proud to be in that position that day and to have met the members on that beautiful site.

“It has been, as you know, a question of detailed work – work that has been carried out with the practically unanimous agreement of the council” he went on “ We have met here this morning to formally open what is the largest building scheme which this council has ever undertaken.

We began operations about last August and it was very unfortunate that at that time we lost the services of our popular and worthy chairman, Mr Winstone, a man who has given months and years to study and work on behalf of this council in regard to the housing programme.

We were anxious to obtain this site and we were anxious to get it without resorting to that very unpleasant procedure of compulsory purchase. There was much opposition at the start but through the tenacity of the council we have eventually overcome it.

I was asked to be your chairman again and it took some consideration. I realised that to build 150 houses meant a great deal of extra work for the council and myself.

After purchasing the site the council secured the services of our brother councillor, Eric Cole, to submit a layout of the scheme. After many meetings and slight alterations to the plans the council’s decision was reached and the scheme had to be submitted to the government architect. The clerk and myself went to London on five different occasions and it was only last Monday that we took the tenders to the Ministry and received their final sanction. I think we ought to be proud that we have got an architect in this district who received one of the highest compliments I consider any architect could receive from the Ministry (hear,hear) upon the lay-out and the houses generally.

The lowest tender for the building was that of Messrs Wheatley of Stroud and I am glad of this because they are from a neighbouring town. From information we have gathered they have carried out similar work in the Stroud area to the entire satisfaction of all concerned and I have every reason to believe that the houses will be in keeping with the amenities of the town and district. I hope the scheme will be a boon to the town and a credit to the council.

When you consider this is practically a £70,000 scheme to be developed on one of the most beautiful sites in Cirencester I am sure no one with any common sense can possibly raise any objection to it.

Called upon to speak, Mr R Payne, the County Town Planning Officer, mentioned that the Town Planning Committee had not approved of the scheme but as the Ministry of Health had decided to sanction it he was sure the committee would be quite willing to accept the decision of the Ministry because the Ministry had taken into consideration the question of planning. He was sure the Town Planning Committee would give the council their blessing.

Mr Matthews then cut a square of the turf on the site of one of the first houses to be built and so formally put into operation the council’s latest housing scheme, Chesterton Housing Estate.

Standard, April 2, 1938