The questionnaire is straightforward, requiring only yes/no answers. It falls into four parts. The first is about the Skeffington Committee Report, and after explaining the report's recommendations that the public should be more involved in planning, it tries to find out how much the recipients of the letter know about the report, and whether they agree with it. The second part is about the problem of pollution and congestion on the roads, contrasting private and public transport systems. The third section is about urban motorways and the fourth and last is about building priorities, and among other things, is aimed at finding out how much voice the candidates think that people should have in the planning of their city.

All the questions are prefaced by an explanation of what they are driving at, and both these prefaces and the questions themselves are clearly slanted towards greater concern for the environment of N/cle and greater public participation in planning. It is to be hoped that this will encourage, among the council members, a true interest in the urban environment rather than just an interest in saying the 'right' thing. In any case, it is a move in the right direction to publicise how much real concern N/cle City Councillors have for the city environment. It could be very revealing. Watch MG next issue for further news.

Maurice