In the 1960s, Newcastle underwent a controversial and hugely destructive redevelopment. The man behind it was Thomas Daniel Smith, known as T. Dan Smith, the leader of Newcastle City Council [Fig. 1]. Smith was inspired by the town planning of Richard Grainger and John Dobson, who rebuilt Newcastle in the 1830s. At the time he was hailed as a visionary. In fact,he was popularly known as "Mr Newcastle". He intended to turn Newcastle into the "Brasilia of the North" - Brasilia was famous for its wide scale Modernist development.
Fig. 1 T. Dan Smith
T. Dan Smith oversaw the Development Plan of 1963 [Fig. 2]. A modern road system was cut through the city. Large areas were demolished to make way for tower blocks, offices and roadways. The new infrastructure was Brutalist in style. Smith was willing to destroy large amounts of Georgian and Victorian fabric in favour of Brutalism.
Fig. 2 Model of the 1963 Development Plan
For example, at John Dobson's Eldon Square, two blocks were demolished leaving only one of the side wings [Fig. 3]. The main central block was demolished and replaced by the current Eldon Square shopping centre.
Fig. 3 John Dobson's original Eldon Square
T. Dan Smith was later arrested on corruption charges. He was found guilty of taking bribes in return for awarding contracts to architects and spent six years in jail. A lot of the buildings that now tower over Newcastle were built because of bribery and corruption, which really undermines the supposedly progressive ideology that lay behind the plan.
