Towns and their Land
Few experts on physical reconstruction speak with grea
authority than Sir Charles Bressey, and it is to be hoped that observations in .ast Sunday's Observer, on the rebuilding of bli towns, will receive the attention they deserve in the right quart In the cases of towns where damage is extensive—in Coven Plymouth, Bristol and elsewhere—no application of ordinary tos planning powers will suffice, in Sir Charles' view, and the on practical course is for the planning authority to acquire full rig of ownership of the sites on terms which it would not be diffi for Parliament to fix on an equitable basis There could then planning in the public interest, noble sites (in Sir Charles' won being reserved for noble purposes and priority in building be decided in accordance with public needs. Municipalities wi thus become ground-landlords of a large part of the area with their jurisdiction. That would invest them with a new and seri°, responsibility, and one corollary should be the willingness of t best citizens to sit as members of the corporation or city coun Few forms of public service are more inherently valuable than tha and the value will be the greater as the administrative tasks trusted to local authorities increase, as they inevitably must, und. new Acts of Parliament.
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