Peterlee New Town, 1962

Here's a great little film about Peterlee New Town from 1962. Peterlee was one of the first wave of postwar new towns, built for mining in the North-East of England. Famously the painter Victor Pasmore contributed to the design of the town and the buildings, including the recently refurbised modernist bridge/sculpture/folly, the Apollo Pavillion.

The town's colourful heritage includes Lubetkin's abandoned plans for a centre of towers, T. Dan Smith's drafting in as chairman of the development corporation in the late 1960s, and corrupt architect John Poulson's contracts for areas of housing and a swimming pool. This short film has been beautifully restored by the BFI.