George Pepler was born 24 February 1882 in
Croydon,
Surrey, and was educated at
Bootham School,
York, and
The Leys School,
Cambridge. He trained as a
surveyor, but became interested in development and town planning issues, and established a practice with Ernest G. Allen. From 1908, they were among the first to specialise in laying out new villages and housing estates for landowners. Pepler was largely responsible for preparing the
Town and Country Planning Act 1947, which gave a leading role to town planning within central and local government, and enshrined the concept of the
green belt. He later took on planning consultancy roles in
Renfrewshire, and between 1950 and 1954 for the
Government of Singapore. He was a member of the
Royal Commission on
common land in 1955–58. He became President of the TPI in 1919–20, and uniquely served for a second term in 1949–50, as well as acting as the organisation's Secretary and Treasurer at different times. He also received the organisation's Gold Medal. He chaired both the Town Planning Joint Examination Board and the Town and Country Planning Summer School for many years. He was President of the
International Federation for Housing and Town Planning in 1935–38, and again between 1947 and 1952 before becoming its Honorary President for life. He was also active in the
National Playing Fields Association, and in the
Council for the Preservation of Rural England. He was
knighted in 1948. He died in
Dorset at the age of 77. ==Legacy==