DiscussionMr F. E. Campion (Chief Civil Engineer, British Railways (Southern Region)) said that on the Southern Region the modernization plan had produced a demand for up-todate surveys, which only in a few cases existed. The normal survey staff of experienced surveyors had fallen during the 10 years of the war and post-war period to a very small number. It had been possible by the use of aerial surveys to overcome the difficulties and to produce very quickly plans which were up to date. This method was particularly useful in the case of Parliamentary surveys, where it was necessary to get a great deal of information about one's neighbours. If surveyors were used to go into back gardens and round houses the occupants at once became suspicious of officialdom and thus the seeds of parliamentary opposition were sown before the work had really begun. With air surveys, on the other hand, all the details required were obtained before anybody became annoyed. 79. He had found the photographs most useful in preliminary planning, because they showed what existed outside the railway boundaries. It made it possible to study both sides of the problem so far as the interests of adjoining owners and of the railway were concerned.80. So far as parliamentary opposition was concerned, he had had an interesting case where, in connexion with a widening, it had been necessary to acquire the bottoms of the gardens of a good deal of good-class property. The owners, who had not been there very long, had naturally been indignant, and a properly organized opposition had been built up. Fortunately before it had gone too far the people concerned had appealed to their local Member of Parliament, and by means of a photograph enlarged to a scale of about 1 in. to 40 ft, it had been possible to show the Member exactly what it was desired to take, how many trees would be removed and-what was more important -how many would be left, and as a result the opposition had fizzled out. 81. For emergency planning air photographs were proving most useful. The Southern Region had been faced with the possibilities of some heavy work, and it had been obvious that the preliminary decision would be influenced very much by the nature of the ground and the adjoining property. It was only a matter of telephoning the Plan Keeper to obtain the necessary photographs, and it was possible to go a long way before visiting the site. Air photographs were also very helpful when it was necessary to discuss alterations or other proposals with people who were not used to reading plans, and who often did not realize what was involved, but who, if they saw an air photograph, would appreciate the position at once.

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