National Building Agency
The UK National Building Agency was set up in 1963 by Geoffrey Rippon, The Minister of Public Building and Works. Announcing it's formation he told the House of Commons (the United Kingdom parliament):[1]
-To fulfil the country's needs for new buildings of all kinds, the output of the building industry must increase by more than 50 per cent. in the next decade. Accordingly: the Government propose to set up a National Building Agency to further the industrialisation of building.
-The Agency will have two main functions. First, it will help to co-ordinate the requirements of those wishing to build into programmes which are large enough, and continuing enough, to make possible the economic use of industrialised methods. -Secondly, it will offer expert and technical advice about the newest methods. The Agency's services will be available both to public authorities and to the private sector.
-The Agency will not itself actually undertake any building work, and its use will be voluntary. I expect that its services will be of particular value in the first instance to the smaller local authorities. It is intended to supplement and not to supersede the existing and developing consortia of local authorities.
-The Agency will be an independent body, covering the whole of the United Kingdom. It will be managed by a board appointed by the Minister of Public Building and Works after consultation with the building industry and the local authorities. It will be supported in part by public funds, but will charge fees for its services.
The NBA was closed down by another Conservative government. Speaking to the House of Commons in November 1981, Michael Heseltine [2], Secretary of State for the Environment said:
-The Government has concluded that the work of the National Building Agency can be performed adequately by other bodies, and that the agency should no longer be sponsored by the Government. I have written to the chairman of the agency to tell him of this and to suggest that the agency should move as fast as practicable to wind itself up, and resolve to do so by no later than the end of March 1982. I have agreed to provide such additional grant as may be necessary to meet the agency's net liabilities before and during the winding up, provided that the board takes all possible steps to minimise financial demands on the Government. I shall seek provision from Parliament to meet these liabilities as appropriate. My decision to withdraw Government sponsorship from the agency recognises the changed conditions since its inception and is no reflection on the agency's achievements over 17 years.
OPERATIONS
Initially NBA invited the building industry to submit details of special and innovative methods it would wish to use to construct housing. Such systems included those on the one hand where concrete panels were lifted into position to form walls, floors and roofs of medium rise flats and on the other hand systems based on timber frameworks. A great many licenses were issued.
NBA went on to take up a key role in how the nation’s social housing was built and managed. It worked with all sectors of the industry. Within housing providers it worked with housing associations corporately through the National Federation of Housing Associations (now National Housing Federation and local authorities, particularly medium and smaller ones. It spearheaded the change from the use of imperial dimensions to metric dimensions in the construction industry. It provided template plans showing possible layouts of houses and flats to proper space standards.
It was multi-professional. Whilst architects led, structural engineers, civil engineers and surveyors had leading roles as well as economists and so its guidance had the effect of being composite and of a degree above mere professional disciplines. For smaller authorities it designed innovative schemes for instance on difficult and reclaimed land. At the other end of the scale it provided a service assisting self-builders - those intent on building their own house. In its latter years the chairman was Lord Goodman. It worked with other trade lead organisations including TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association).
As well as its head office in central London it had offices in Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff. Its Scottish office came to work somewhat independently.
The NBA authored books: 'Timber-framed Housing', SBN 0860958159 (co-authored with TRADA, published with by Construction Press, 1980) 'Common Building Defects: Diagnosis and Remedy' SBN 086095823 (published by Construction Press, 1979) BillTheDiver (talk) 20:58, 28 July 2017 (UTC) BillTheDiver (talk) 14:13, 28 July 2017 (UTC) BillTheDiver (talk) 14:05, 28 July 2017 (UTC)
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