AbstractThe work of surveyors in the Local Government sector of the profession is probably the least known of all the land surveying activities in the United Kingdom. This is not surprising since the qualified practitioners in this sector form only about five per cent of the total membership and the nature of their duties does not seem to project the glamorous image associated with other organisations which are required to practise the more sophisticated arts of the profession. It is thought that the Land Survey Division of the Greater London Council, although undoubtedly the largest of its kind in the United Kingdom, is nonetheless fairly typical of the other local authorities in the scope of its land surveying operations and it seems appropriate to take the opportunity provided to briefly sketch in the background against which these surveyors work up and down the country.