Dunstable Yesteryear: Where houses were planned

The magnificent view from Dunstable Downs is admired by thousands of visitors every month, but perhaps only a few know the history of the intriguing semi-circle of trees easily seen from the Pascombe Pit area.

They can be spotted towards the left of this photo, taken last week.

The trees stand on a field now in the news because it is included among the many pieces of land being put forward to Central Beds Council as possible future housing sites.

It is not a new idea. The area was once owned by the Flory family who laid out the road now known as The Avenue and began selling individual housing plots there in the late 1930s. The elder Mr Flory built a home for himself at number 1, The Avenue, and called it “Seven Gables”.

He intended the road, whose houses are now hidden from view by trees, to extend much further into the fields towards Wellhead.

But building stopped when the Second World War began and the planning authorities later prevented the further development. This would have led to Dunstable’s urban sprawl becoming visible from the downs. Mr Flory planted rows of horse-chestnut trees alongside his planned semi-circular road and they remain there today, providing a talking point about what might have been.

Now it’s up for discussion again. Many local residents attended a special meeting last week of Dunstable Town Council’s Grounds and Environmental Services Committee which considered the council’s response to various suggestions for future housing sites, including the land near The Avenue. The councillors decided to object in the strongest possible terms to that idea.

Yesteryear is compiled by John Buckledee, chairman of Dunstable and District Local History Society.