§ 62. Sir W. DAVISONasked the First Commissioner of Works whether the plan and elevation of the proposed new buildings for the University of London in Bloomsbury will be referred to the Fine Art Commission for approval, apart from the question of the effect of the proposed new buildings on the amenities of the British Museum?
§ The FIRST COMMISSIONER of WORKS (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)I understand that the Royal Fine Art Commission have been asked to consider the Southern frontage of the new building of the University of London in relation to the Northern frontage of the British Museum, and that they have reported on this matter that "the new buildings do not interfere with the museum buildings in respect of height, of lighting, or of material employed." I am not in a, position to say whether any further reference is contemplated by the University.
§ Sir W. DAVISONDoes not my right hon. Friend think, in view of the large grant from the Exchequer towards re-housing the University of London in Bloomsbury, it is very desirable, and that the Exchequer has a right, to ask that the plans for the new buildings should be submitted to the Fine Art Commission for approval?
§ Mr. ORMSBY-GOREI do not think it is a case of having the right to ask. I think the authorities of the University of London are fully alive to the importance, from the point of view of London and of the country, of having in the new Bloomsbury buildings a. monument of which the city can be proud, and they have certainly employed one of the most outstanding of modern architects.