The TV star was at Washington Arts Centre to judge the competition to mark the New Town's 60th anniversary.
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00:00George Clark, been invited up to take part in the Washington 60th anniversary celebrations.
00:05How important is it to be here?
00:07Unbelievably important, to be honest with you. This is my town, it's my new town.
00:13People call me a new town boy because I grew up in Washington. It's part of my DNA,
00:19I mean genuinely. I think it actually inspired me to become an architect, to be honest with you.
00:23I didn't quite realise that I was living in a town that was so innovative, so forward-thinking,
00:29so utopian, with some of the best architects, designers, planners, landscape architects,
00:35highways engineers, even down to designing the drainage system and designing the gallery
00:40shopping centre. You know what I mean, it goes from the tiniest detail to the biggest thing,
00:45like designing the galleries. We knew we were part of something new but I don't think we realised
00:50quite at the time just how good and innovative it was. When I got to 16, 17, 18 and wanted to
00:57be an architect and I worked for David Johnson Architects in Washington Village. Unfortunately,
01:02he passed away just a couple of weeks ago, he gave me my apprenticeship. It was amazing really at
01:07that age to realise that I was part of something very new and that made a massive difference to
01:12people's lives. So it was a wonderful place to grow up and to be here now on the 60th anniversary,
01:17the 60th birthday of Washington, is a real privilege.
01:20And you've had a look at some of the projects the kids have been doing, what do you think?
01:24The projects are great, I mean the kids have been so passionate and so excited about the
01:29housing they've designed and it's nice to see some like 21st century innovation. There was
01:34innovation done in Washington 60 years ago but now in the 2020s to see really young kids from
01:40primary and secondary schools designing really innovative housing and not just the housing but
01:45also what's around it in terms of place making, pedestrianised squares and streets and courtyards.
01:51It's really really lovely actually, the level of passion and joy that they've got for the
01:56project has been quite infectious really. It's without doubt the most successful
02:00design challenge Moby My Charity has ever done. We've done design challenges all over the country
02:07and this one by far has been the biggest uptake we've had and been the most successful. So
02:12for that to happen in my hometown is a real honour.
02:15Cllr Sean Laws is chairman of the Washington 60 committee. What's today about?
02:20Today is about taking the opportunity to celebrate the work that the kids have done,
02:25the kids of Washington, the work that they've put into this project. We obviously invited George to
02:32come along with his foundation and to deliver a project that could make a difference and really
02:38give kids an opportunity to have a good career ahead of them and to be able to do that.
02:45They've all been brilliant, they've engaged with it and it's to look at the work that they've done
02:50and to see who the winners are in that and to provide them with prizes and to celebrate the
02:56work that's been done. Obviously we're marking the 60th anniversary, how important is it do
02:59you think as a landmark? Well I mean you know Washington was designed as a new town 60 years
03:05ago to create a sense of community. I think it's it's clear that that sense of community is
03:10enduring and that as a place to live, I think it's a fantastic place to live, it's a green and
03:16pleasant land as it was meant to be by the you know when it was developed by the developing
03:20corporation and I think marking the 60 years has been a really important thing for us to do.
03:27For me something I was very keen to do in marking those 60 years was not just about celebrating the
03:32history and the heritage but also about setting us up for the next 60 years because I think that's
03:38really our job as councillors and as a council and our governance role is to set us up for the
03:44next 60 years and I think the opportunity for our younger people to have good career
03:51opportunities like architects and town planners etc really does that.