Mod 39 – “Gateshead is probably a good comparison (community built around a Yeshiva). Gateshead set up a vaad which establishes the price of homes based upon the prices in the neighbouring non Jewish areas”
Actually, I think Gateshead is very different and that is exactly why they suceeded and Lakewood didn’t in this aspect. Gateshead was not opened by the Yeshiva or around the yeshiva. Gateshead is one community with one rov. The community was started with certain standards and all the institutions which opened up thereafter opened as subordinate to the one Rov. I remember hearing that when R’ Rakoov became the rov, all the roshei mosdos got together with him and all of them, most of whom were years older than the new Rov “pledged their allegiance” to him.
Lakewood on the other hand is a yeshiva which moved to a community and although it has accounted for most of the growth in lakewood it never had the supreme, central authority which Gateshead has (or had 13 years ago when I was there)