Message from Beryl Taylor, Former Clerical Staff, 1984 – 1995

Thank you so much for your invitation to the Reunion. I regret that I shall be unable to attend as I live in Redditch now. Travelling to the UCE would have been fine if I could have come in the summer months but I am not happy about driving home in November or even travelling by public transport in the dark. Nevertheless I send my best wishes for a happy reunion to everyone who remembers me and my thoughts will be with you on that day. I will refresh the memories of those I did work with whilst at the UCE. I started work in the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture when the establishment was a Polytechnic. I think the date was 2nd January 1984.

When I came for my interview I liked the atmosphere and I know it was a job I would enjoy. I am not sure what my exact job title was but I had to act as clerical support to all the lecturers in the School of Town Planning and Landscape Architecture. Altogether there were about 25 lecturers. All the members of staff were very pleasant and because Alec, my husband was a lecturer I knew exactly how to deal with them anyway!!! In fact I think that Alec sometimes forgot her was not in the lecture room when he arrived home until I reminded him of this fact. The reason we moved to Redditch was because Alec had been diagnosed in 1993 with motor neurone disease and it was necessary for us to have a bungalow. I was able to continue working at the UCE until October 1995 when I was MADE to retire because I was 65. That was the rule. Sadly Alec died in May 2004. However Redditch is a lovely place to live. All the ring roads are covered with trees and the foliage changes to beautiful colours in the autumn. That is when I think of Roy Winter because he was responsible for landscaping in the area. I live in a lovely friendly Close and have a good social life with my neighbours.

Alec used to be a member of the Birmingham Beekeepers’ Association and he used to keep bees. I still go to the Association meetings on the last Friday of every month although I only attend as a theoretical beekeeper. The Association has a Social Secretary so we usually meet up once a month for a mid-day meal at a restaurant in the area. I went to Trace Your Ancestors evening classes last year and I have got all the information to start writing everything up for posterity. This year I am back with the evening classes so that I can write up my family history. The members of the class are very literate and so our discussions are most interesting.

Our three lovely daughters are great fun to be with. Carol lives in Redditch, Anne in Salford and Elizabeth spends most of the year with her husband in Kuwait where they are both working.

Best wishes to everyone who knew me.

Beryl Taylor

Message from Roger Smith, Alumnus of Town Planning, 1956 – 1959

Hello, is anyone there? Can anyone hear me? No, this is not the NC&I campaign to find lost investors but a call to anyone who attended the first diploma course at the School of Planning in the original premises at the corner of Broad Street and Oozells Street. I have spoken with David Sewell recently and he lives in Fareham, Hants, fairly near to his daughter.

The photographs sent in were taken at the very end of the course, hence the glasses – we did not drink in class ordinarily – honestly, we were always quite sober!

Message from Mick Bruton

I am sorry to miss the celebrations as I have some happy memories of my time with the then ‘Poly’ and would have liked to renew acquaintances with former colleagues, possibly in the ‘Sack of Potatoes’ at Gosta Green. Perhaps you could pass on my best wishes to those who remember me. I am not sure who is still there but Jean Badman I remember well, along with many other characters such as Geoff Crook, the two Harry’s, Chris Paris, Mike Gibson, John Tate, Norman Strothers, Pete Fidler, Geoff Crispin, Paul Edwards, Chris Baines, Alan Green, Len the Technician and the many others whose names escape me.

I will be thinking of you all on the day.

Message from Martin Brookes, Alumnus of MSc Town Planning, 1973 – 1975

I have spent most of my career in local government – Southampton, Stafford and South Oxfordshire but I am now a self-employed public sector planning consultant and planning inspector. I also do some editing work on ‘Development Control Practice’.

I am living in Oxfordshire and would welcome any news of any fellow students on the full-time MSc course.

Message from John Pearson, Alumnus BSc Environmental Planning, 1992 – 1995

Please pass on my best to those who may remember me, I was on the BSc Env planning course from 92-95 then post grad town planning 95-96. Love the picture of the 93 course trip can’t remember where it was but I’m front and centre in the green jacket and my hair is slightly shorter these days.

Have many good memories especially the trips to Amsterdam and Prague, being locked out of planning history lectures in the first year on Tuesday mornings for being more than 5 minutes late and losing the intercourse football tournament final as the 2nd year planners.

Anyway, I hope you will be posting lots of photo’s on the website so we can see what everyone looks like now. And yes I did become a Town Planner.

Many thanks to those who attended.

• What roles and responsibilities should spatial planning play in delivering the ambitions for the future?
• Are there any further lessons from the work of the RTPI Education Commission?
• What more can initial professional education and lifelong learning do to help to deliver the ambition?

However this is far from an exhaustive list, we’d like you to contribute your own questions. What would you like to see discussed? If you think there are burning issues that need to be addressed, add your ideas for questions below as a comment:

• Local government- a crisis of legitimacy?
• How can representative and participatory democracy co-exist?
• What difference will e-government make?
• Will the English ever embrace regionalism?

Here they are, hard at work.

This course can be one rung on a ladder of opportunity for staff in planning and related employment who are seeking qualification for membership of the RTPI, but are unable to be admitted directly to a Masters programme, because they do not have appropriate pre-requisite qualifications at undergraduate level.

Over the years, planning education at UCE Birmingham has enabled many people from a wide variety of backgrounds to progress to full professional status by such routes.

If you’re a former or current student, or if you were in the workshop, what are your thoughts on these issues? How did your time here help form your opinions on them?

This photograph, taken at the School’s annual prize-giving event in February 2007, shows Mrs Madeleine Ginsburg, Professor Ginsburg’s widow, with Professor Peter Larkham, the Leslie Ginsburg Professor of Planning, and two of the Ginsburg Prize-winners for 2005-6, Claire Hall and Leslie Way. Claire, 23, from Oldbury studied the BA Planning, Environment and Geography and received the Leslie Ginsburg Award for the Best Final Year Dissertation. Lesley, 52, from Great Yarmouth,was awarded the Best Individual Student prize on a Diploma or Advanced Diploma in Professional Studies in Planning and the Environment.

Not pictured, Natalia Wright, 40, from Birmingham received the award for work on her MA Spatial Planning degree, in the category Best Special Project or Dissertation on a Planning postgraduate course.

The School was very pleased that Mrs Ginsburg agreed to travel up from London to present the prizes.

Concluding an intensive 13 week course of lectures and workshops, the students were challenged to identify: Issues / challenges, Planning Responses, Theories / Ideas / Concepts and Critique / Limitations for the following periods: 1800-1900, 1900-1947, 1947-1968, 1969-1978, 1979-1990, 1991-1997 and 1997-present.

Students formed into 12 groups and each group produced a poster to encapsulate their findings. The activity served as a summary and revision for the whole course.

Feedback on the module was very favourable, but some wished it had occurred earlier in the course. If you participated, share your thoughts by commenting on the photos.