THE Citizen front page, Apathy, November 29, blamed the public of Preston for not being interested in the proposed town centre development.

The Citizen article said 'just 22 members of the public had bothered to reply, despite a massive advertising campaign run by the council, which did their utmost to give people as many simple ways of responding as possible'.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

On July 4, it was reported that Preston Borough Council had released the reports 'Supplementary Planning Guidance Tithebarn, Preston' -- 33 pages of small print, plus notes, making extensive use of planning jargon and Town Hall speak, it was essentially a document for professionals, not the general public.

I doubt councillors on the planning committee which approved the report on July 9 had sufficient time to understand the contents of it or been able to provide adequate answers if the electorate had asked questions.

Preston falls a long way short of being a 'participant democracy' and the council does not know (or wishes to know) what 'public consultation' means.

Ray Johnson (Save the Bus Station Campaign), Ribbleton.