Ribbon Development The Minister of Transport, who received a deputation
from the Oxford Preservation Trust and the Cambridge Preservation Society on the subject of ribbon develop- ment, does not seem to have gone beyond platitudes in expressing his agreement. Ribbon development is a baneful development, regarding whose origin there is really no mystery. It comes about, because our peculiar law encourages and almost compels it to come about. If you build a house along a road already maintainable by the public authority, you incur no road charge for doing so ; but if you build elsewhere, heavy charges will become payable, whenever the new road is " taken over." That is the overwhelming reason why houses are built lining existing public roads. The remedy is to make a road-charge payable by all new buildings, whether the road on which they abut is or is not already publicly maintained. If the charge were made heavier in pro- portion to the width of the paved roadway, principal and arterial roads would soon be left severely alone.
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