Sir George Lionel Pepler (24 February 1882 – 13 April 1959) was a British

town planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

who was influential in the development of town planning practice in the first half of the twentieth century.

Life and career

George Pepler was born 24 February 1882 in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school ...

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, and

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational independent school in Cambridge, England. It is a day and boarding school for about 574 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Histo ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. Scottish Archive Network: George Pepler
, Retrieved 17 January 2013 He trained as a

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

, but became interested in development and town planning issues, and established a practice with Ernest G. Allen. From 1908, they were among the first to specialise in laying out new villages and housing estates for landowners. Pepler became a member of the Garden Cities Association (later the

Town and Country Planning Association The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) is an independent research and campaigning charity founded and based in the United Kingdom. It works to enable homes, places and communities in which everyone can thrive. Through its research, tr ...

), and of the National Housing and Town Planning Council. In 1914 he was a founding member of the

Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the Regulatory college, professional body representing Urban planning, planners in the United Kingdom, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the bui ...

(TPI). Also in 1914, as a member of the

Local Government Board The Local Government Board (LGB) was a British Government supervisory body overseeing local administration in England and Wales from 1871 to 1919. The LGB was created by the Local Government Board Act 1871 (C. 70) and took over the public health a ...

, he was placed in charge of the Greater London Arterial Road Conferences. In 1919, he was appointed Chief Town Planning Inspector to the Ministry of Health, a post which he held until 1941. He was then Chief Technical Adviser to the

Ministry of Town and Country Planning Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

from 1943 to 1946. In these posts he was responsible for persuading local authorities of the importance of town planning for communities, and then, after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, for their overall responsibility for guiding the process of post-war housing and physical reconstruction.ArchivesHub: Papers of Sir George Pepler
Retrieved 17 January 2013 Pepler was largely responsible for preparing the

Town and Country Planning Act 1947 The Town and Country Planning Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. VI c. 51) was an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom passed by the Labour government led by Clement Attlee. It came into effect on 1 July 1948, and along with the Town and Country Plannin ...

, which gave a leading role to town planning within central and local government, and enshrined the concept of the

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

. He later took on planning consultancy roles in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, and between 1950-54 for the

Government of Singapore The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercise ...

. He was a member of the Royal Commission on

common land Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect Wood fuel, wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

in 1955-58. He became President of the TPI in 1919-20, and uniquely served for a second term in 1949-50, as well as acting as the organisation's Secretary and Treasurer at different times. He also received the organisation's Gold Medal. He chaired both the Town Planning Joint Examination Board and the Town and Country Planning Summer School for many years. He was President of the International Federation for Housing and Town Planning in 1935-38, and again between 1947 and 1952 before becoming its Honorary President for life. He was also active in the

National Playing Fields Association Fields in Trust, is a British charity set up in 1925 as the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), by Brigadier-General Reginald Kentish and the Duke of York, later King George VI, who was the first president, which protects parks and green s ...

, and in the

Council for the Preservation of Rural England CPRE, The Countryside Charity, formerly known by names such as the ''Council for the Preservation of Rural England'' and the ''Council for the Protection of Rural England'', is a charity in England with over 40,000 members and supporters. Forme ...

. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1948. He died in

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

at the age of 77.

Legacy

The George Pepler International Award was established by the

Royal Town Planning Institute The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) is the professional body representing planners in the United Kingdom, and Ireland. It promotes and develops policy affecting planning and the built environment. Founded in 1914, the institute was gra ...

in 1973, and is awarded to a person aged under 30 undertaking research in some aspect of town planning. Planning Resource, ''International prize open for entries'', 18 May 2012
Retrieved 17 January 2013

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepler, George 1882 births 1959 deaths People from Croydon British urban planners Presidents of the Royal Town Planning Institute People educated at Bootham School Knights Bachelor