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The front cover of Newsletter number 4, dated October 1963, boasts an outline graphic of the Society's logo and the word 'Crossroads' in acrostic form (not easy on a Roneo stencil). 'The Ipswich Society Exhibition at the Civic College, Ipswich, From November 25th to December 6th, 1963' is the title.

"As a town, Ipswich is very much at a cross-roads. The central areas are in a process of re-development, and the population continues to grow rapidly. This is an important stage of urban evolution for an ancient borough whose citizens should certainly be more concerned with the changes taking place. There is the possibility of unprecedented changes if planned expansion is undertaken, in terms of Mr. Vincent's Report to the Minister of Housing and Local Government."

Mr. Paul Kirby of the Civic Trust will speak at a special Society meeting on 25 November in the Assembly Hall, Civic College on the development of city centres with special reference to the problems of pedestrian segregation.

This issue includes The Ipswich Society window sticker. "If you could display it at home, at business premises or on your car (near-side rear window please!) and be ready to answer questions which it may provoke, you would be helping the Society to prosper."

A summary of the lecture of 27 June by Mr. L.G. Vincent on 'The planned expansion of existing towns' follows. The problems of an ever-growing London and of population growth in the South-East highlight that the policy of building new towns and adding overspill to existing towns is only "playing with the problem".

Population increase is caused by a combination of re-housing after slum-clearances, growth in family-units and increasing minimum standards of in-door space requirements. "During the next twenty years the one-third of Britain's population living in the south-east of England will need two-and-a-half to three million more dwellings." An expansion into larger towns including Ipswich is a possibility. "There are two theoretical degrees of expansion, 50% and 100% respectively, and in the case of Ipswich, this would mean a town of 200 or 300 thousand people, including natural increases."

"The town centre is the key to expansion and present a big problem. Much capital would be needed, and a long-term outlook would be necessary to get the appropriate complete reorganisation. In Ipswich the natural fall of the land towards the river suggests a multi-level solution to the problem of segregating pedestrians and vehicles. "It must be emphasised that planning is for people. The 'main endeavour is to create an environment in which they can live a full and useful life, with increasing provision for a rise in the standard of living and an increase in leisure'."

Elsewhere, the establishment of The Ipswich Society Reference Library is announced and indeed it continues to grow in 2015.

Robin Gaylard