On to Subtopia Some time ago they decided that their
opinions were not influencing either public or Parliament effectively enough. The Commission was origin- ally established, back in 1924, to provide high- level advice to public bodies confronted by the' unwelcome necessity of making decisions involv- ing artistic considerations. Since then it has come to act as the country's artistic conscience on far more complicated matters. arising from the re- development of cities, the creation of new urban areas, and the attacks on what remains of the countryside (many of them originating within government departments).
The members of the Commission, I'm told, are naturally depressed by the quality of a great deal of the redevelopment already carried out or in progress. They are not always consulted., of course; when they are brought in it is often at too late a stage for their advice to be effective; and in any event they can only advise. Theij present remedy is to attempt a much more vigorous use of publicity in the future, to get their opinions across while decisions are still in the making. I wish them luck, but without any extravagant hopes for their success. Perhaps the old Royal Commission should now be replaced by a more powerful body, divided into regional groups, and able to influence planning and 'amenities' more actively. There is certainly a good case for arguing that the present modest machinery cannot hope to do the job. (Major proposals can often receive only a few minutes' discussion by the full Commission.) But I have an alternative, and fashionably radical, suggestion. This is that the meetings of the Com- mission should be held in public. They are said to be startlingly lively and opinionated at times: they could hardly be otherwise with a committee which includes Sir Hugh Casson, Mr John Betjeman, Mr Henry Moore, and Sir Basil Spence, all under the chairmanship of Lord Bridges. Indeed, it is rumoured that the seating arrangements have even had to be adjusted in order, in Sir Anthony Exlen's•famous phrase, to 'separate the combatants.' Nothing would stimu- late interest in their efforts more than brisk press reports of their monthly meetings. Later, of course, they could be televised.
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