The Threat from the East
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WILL TRING SAVE BERKHAMSTED? Berkhamsted Urban District Council, fearing that Berkhamsted is to be engulfed in the expansion of Hemel Hempstead, new satellite town for London, is looking to Tring for its salvation. To that end, Berkhamsted is apparently also prepared to join Tring in transferring to Bucks. … "Most of us," said Councillor S. H. Smith, "have a very shrewd idea of what would happen if we were offered to Hemel Hempstead. We don’t want to wait to be offered to anyone." … It was for the people of Berkhamsted to make up their minds on joining with Tring and the Rural Council and going into Bucks or risk being swallowed up by the new town. Bucks Herald, 3rd January |
While the danger of becoming a new town had receded there were bellicose neighbours to the East who had to be kept at bay. A Boundary Commission was collecting evidence to see if various administrative boundaries should be redrawn. On January 7th the Tring Council discussed the report of the Berkhamsted Urban District Council that had appeared in the papers. Councillor Bedford said that "most of us have a very shrewd idea as to what would happen to us if we were offered to Berkhamsted, and we don’t want to be offered to anyone. … I feel that Berkhamsted seem to want to force Tring into a marriage with Berkhamsted, without any consultation, and courtship, and wooing; and not even a proposal of marriage."
After further debate the Council resolved:
… That the Council regards the action of the Berkhamsted U.D.C. as unneighbourly and discourteous in the extreme and as tending to create feelings which might well be prejudicial to the smooth and effective working of any such amalgamation.That this Council has noted with surprise the resolution of the Berkhamsted Urban District Council to recommend to the Boundary Commission the amalgamation of the Berkhamsted Urban and Rural Districts with the Tring Urban district without prior consultation with Tring
It was clear that Tring wanted to retain its independence and the issue rumbled on through the year. It is interesting to note that the Hemel Hempstead Borough Council assured Berkhamsted that it had no intention of trying to incorporate Berkhamsted into the Borough. In June Tring Council resolved:
That the Council have no wish for any alteration in the County Boundary in their district, providing that they can still maintain their independent urban status, but if it means that by remaining in the County of Hertford they would be deprived of that status, they would prefer that the Urban District of Tring should be transferred to the neighbouring County of Bucks.
During the summer the Herts County Council decided that they would be happy to cede the rural areas north of Tring to Bucks, but no more, while the Bucks County Council said it would not oppose the transfer of Tring to Bucks. On the 7th October the Tring Council agreed that the most important thing was to keep its Urban District Council status and there was no practical advantage in a change. They added that if there had to be changes the town fitted more naturally in Buckinghamshire:
If on dealing with the County boundaries the Boundary Commission comes to the conclusion that a change is desirable then the Council would put forward the following points for their consideration.
(a) GEOGRAPHICALLY. Under this heading Tring would fall more naturally into the County of Bucks.
(b) AGRICULTURALLY. From this point of view there appears to be greater affinity with Bucks than with Herts.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE. From this point of view Aylesbury as the County Town of Bucks is much more accessible and convenient to Tring than Hertford.
(d) SERVICES. The Gas, Electricity and Water supplies are derived from Bucks.
(e) EDUCATIONAL. Berkhamsted School is only now available to a very limited number of scholars from Tring, and the journey to Aylesbury compares favourably with the journey to Hemel Hempstead, where most of the scholarships are now tenable.
(f) The suggestion of amalgamation with Berkhamsted Urban and Berkhamsted Rural District Councils would be strongly resented by the majority of local inhabitants. There is little or no community of interest and such an amalgamation would most certainly entail a loss of interest in and touch with local government affairs nor are the Council at all satisfied that such an amalgamation would "ensure an individually and collectively effective and convenient unit of local government administration" which is, they understand, the guiding principle of the Boundary Commission.
On this occasion Tring escaped, but when the town was taken over by Berkhamsted’s bigger brother in 1974, many of the older citizens may well have wondered whether they should have asked to be moved into Bucks in 1947.
Tring's Council in 1947 <<< Tring Town Map >>> Storms of a different kind
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Page updated August 2005