Basic Biographical Details
| Name: | William Derek Collier Lyddon |
| Designation: | |
| Born: | 17 November 1929 |
| Died: | 7 February 2015 |
| Bio Notes: | William Derek Collier Lyddon was born on 17 November 1925 in Loughton, Essex the youngest of the three children. His father was a civil engineer who had been involved in the design of the first dual carriageway in Britain and the runway in Benbecula during the Second World War. Lyddon was educated at Wrekin College. He served with the Royal Navy during the war from 1944 and while in the Navy met Marian Charlesworth who was serving as a ‘wren’ and whom he married in 1949. He studied for a degree in architecture followed by a diploma in town planning at University College London. After qualification he moved to Stevenage in 1952 which began his career in the development of New Towns. The period in Stevenage was followed by two brief spells in Belfast and Coventry. From 1958 to 1963 he was deputy chief architect and planning officer in Cumbernauld where he was responsible in particular for the development of the south side of the town. In the latter year he moved to Skelmersdale as chief architect and planning officer. In 1967 he was appointed Chief Planning Officer in the Scottish Development Department in which post he remained for the next eighteen years. He was involved a range of important changes in the country during this time including the development of North Sea oil simultaneously with the demise of many traditional industries in Scotland as well as call for urban renewal. His most notable achievement was probably the development of guidelines for the land-based development of North Sea oil. He arranged for the whole of Scotland’s coastlines to be surveyed to assess suitable sites for the accommodation of concrete production platforms which were then gaining favour over steel platforms but which required greater depth. The environmental impact was also a consideration in his guidelines. The result was that the large and complex requirements of the oil developments were met with little opposition and only once (at Drambuie, Wester Ross where the land was owned by the National trust for Scotland) was there the need for a local public enquiry. Lyddon went on the produce similar National Planning guidelines for sorts of development. He became increasingly involved in urban renewal projects for areas of urban deprivation which had been created by an old stock of poor housing and the run-down of old industries. After retirement Lyddon became chairman of the Edinburgh Old Town Renewal Trust where he saw his role as protecting old buildings as well as finding new uses for them. He served as a member and later chairman of Glasgow’s Eastern Renewal project and as chairman of the Edinburgh School of Environmental Design. He was chairman and honorary president of the Grange Association. He served on the Economic and Social Research Council and was an external examiner at several universities. Heriot Watt University awarded him a DLitt in 1981 and he received the CB in 1984. Lyddon died on 7 February 2015. His wife had predeceased him but they are survived by their two daughters. |
References
Bibliographic References
| The following books contain references to this : | ||||||
| Author(s) | Date | Title | Part | Publisher | Notes | |
 | www.idoxplc.com | www.idoxplc.com | ||||
Periodical References
| The following periodicals contain references to this : | |||||
| Periodical Name | Date | Edition | Publisher | Notes | |
| RIAS Quarterly | 2015 | Summer | Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) | |
| Scotsman | 19 February 2015 | |||
Archive References
| The following archives hold material relating to this : | ||||
| Source | Archive Name | Source Catalogue No. | Notes | |
| RIAS, Rutland Square | Records of membership | ||