Part 5

What Does the Future Hold for the Town?

The question in many people's minds at preset time is how long will the town go under the name of Rushden? Many speeches by various local people have been delivered on the subject, but so far no positive action has been made. The changeover is due to the contemplated joining of the neighbouring borough of Higham Ferrers and this town. The people of Rushden know that such a link would mean that the new town would have to be called Higham Ferrers as the present borough is one of the old Royal Boroughs, and to this changeover they object. So there exists this rivalry between the two towns. What difference would this link make to the new town? Indeed it would be very little for as it is, Higham is very dependent upon Rushden not only for shopping and commercial facilities but also for its water and other essential commodities. Like this town, Higham Ferrers has one staple industry, that of the manufacture of boots and shoes. No light industries are being encouraged to develop in the borough and consequently a slump in the shoe trade would mean gross unemployment. Until some positive steps are made, local councillors, and mayors will still continue to make it the theme of any civic speeches delivered in the area and the two towns will still be known as Rushden and Higham.

Mention had been made in the previous chapter of how the town has spread since the war and this is clearly visible from the map showing the growth of Rushden. This spread has now practically ceased except for several new private houses scattered around the outskirts of the urban area, but this is nothing compared with the vast council estates. The present council does not anticipate any new housing projects in the future, and the question arises can the town spread much further? The present economic position would have halted any large building programme had the council any in mind. Directly after the last war, the housing situation in the town was extremely poor, but now the situation has changed. The population although now rising very slowly, shows that few people are being attracted into the town, in fact this attraction is counterbalanced by other people moving out of the town to other areas. The need therefore for more houses has practically finished.

Now that the demand for new houses has diminished, what will the local builders do who have helped to build these estates? Some will look for work outside the bounds of the town, but others will be employed in repairing and building private houses. One firm who were given a large contract for houses, have already given up, now that the work has finished.

The problem of sewerage also has much to do with the council's decision not to allow the town to spread much more. The present sewerage system is inadequate, and only in April 1958 was a £19,000 plan to improve sewerage arrangements in the town approved by the council and submitted to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. (The scheme is for a gravity relief sewer from one part of town to the sewage works, instead of an earlier alternative proposal for a pumping station and a relief sewer.)

The sewage farm itself would have to undergo vast extensions if the town was to grow any larger, and under the present economic conditions, the plans would not be approved. The housing estate in the southern part of the parish has only just had water pipes connected for running water, and even now there are no sewerage pipes laid at all. The delay in providing water was due to the height of the area, and not until a new water tower was built, could running water be supplied to the tenants of those houses.

Until new industries are attracted to the town, there will be no work for possible new residents in the town and so the population remains fairly constant, unlike the position 100 years ago. Trade in the shoe industry in the town is not as brisk as it was five years ago. No longer is this part of the country dominating the shoe industry like it was fifty years ago, but the industry is gradually spreading to other parts of the country.

So this national spread is affecting this town, and the industry attracting outsiders like it did at the beginning of the century.

Mention was made however, some weeks ago by a leading footwear manufacturer, of devising footwear for those who would ride through space in satellites and for the inhabitants of the moon and other places where the travellers might land. "What is the use" he asked, "of getting to these places without trying to sell them something?" Another manufacturer when stressing the importance of the European market, in which consumption might be doubled through the Common Market Plan expressed the conviction that Rushden, always adaptable, would continue to do so.

The problem of the increased amount of traffic must also be dealt with before long. It has already been pointed out in a previous chapter what the traffic conditions are like in the centre of the town at mid-day and the late afternoon. This problem has always been a headache and will continue to be so until the new by-pass is constructed. Again, there has been much talk about this new scheme which entails the building of a new road to the east of the town which will enable long distance vehicles to continue their journey on the A6 road without passing through the narrow street of the town, failing this project, the council has recommended a one-way stream of traffic through the High Street with another road away from the centre to the other stream.

Parking space in the town is another problem. The council has in the past and is continuing to do so, to pull down old condemned property and replacing them with car parks. The whole of the town centre is full of traffic signs especially "No Waiting" signs which had to be erected to clear the High Street of parked cars. The problem now is where to build the next parking space. All the suitable spaces close to the centre of the town have been used, owners will simply park in streets further away and will not worry about getting into a car park.

The amount of heavy traffic in the area has been increased owing to the new American Bomber Station, about three mile from the town centre. Naturally this had not helped the traffic problem at all. The new Base looks like being a permanent station for storing atomic bombs, and the town will always be a magnet of attraction for the airmen. Several tradesmen, especially the grocers in the locality have benefitted through this presence of the base and the need for large amounts of food.

The question of local transport is always being raised. Many times British Railways have threatened to close the railway line which links Higham and Rushden with Wellingborough, situated on the main London to Scotland Railway. If British Railways relied solely upon passenger fares to keep it open, it would have been closed years ago. The station at Wellingborough is over a mile from the town centre and women wishing to visit the town for shopping purposes can easily use the bus service which takes them into the town centre. Rushden is also connected with London via a regular bus service, and although the journey takes three hours, the cost is half that of the railway. Luckily though, the Rushden branch line has plenty of traffic which helps to pay for it. Should this commercial bias slacken off then the single track line would have to close.

The post war growth of the town has had an effect upon the expenditure of the various churches for theyt find that the new estates are too far away for many of the children to travel to Sunday services. The Baptist Church has started a private bus service which collects the children from the new estates, takes them to the church, and then takes them home again. The Church of England has opened a new Sunday School close to the estate whilest the Methodist children have to trudge on foot to their chapel.

The growth of the town has also affected the owners of the allotment grounds. As these pieces of land are situated on the outskirts of the urban area, they are always likely to be moved when the civic authorities wish to add to the town’s number of houses. The allotments have been called ‘a band of nomads doomed eternally to move from cabbage patch to cabbage patch’. Many owners of allotments have been moved two or even three times, but now it looks as if they will remain settled for some time ahead.

PC John Firkins

The local police force has had to issue cycles to some of its numbers instead of relying entirely on pedestrians. The local ‘beats’ have been extended but the number of policemen is still far below the number required for the town, and when a telephone caller to the station is told to phone elsewhere for help as all the staff are fully occupied, it is time the numbers are increased.

The number of people employed in agriculture in the town cannot fall much lower without some of the farms closing and the land used for other purposes. Even with the advanced mechanisation of agriculture, and the local farms are well mechanised, some labour is still required for various jobs. The land which is now left for agricultural use will continue to be farmed intensely and thereby help to provide for the 17,000 inhabitants of the town. Continued fertilisation of the soils must be maintained if the quantity and quality of the crops is to be maintained.

Rushden of today and in the future can well be related to the development of a stream. The youthful stage of the town existed at the beginning of the century. The population was rising rapidly, and it was a changing community, but now, although still progressive, the town is more mature. No more is there the rapid rise in the population: the attraction of the main industry has weakened, and the town is now settling down to consolidate its past, but at the same time keeping abreast with the ever changing pattern of life.