§ 62. Sir CYRIL COBBasked the First Commissioner of Works whether he has requested Bedford College, Regent's Park, to surrender to him its occupation of a suitable portion of the unbuilt-upon Crown land lying between the college and the eastern end of the Clarence Gate: Lake bridge to be used solely as a public sports ground for various games so that 2274 the botanical gardens may be restored to the general public as a quiet retreat as gardens or, alternatively, will Bedford College allow him as an act of grace to use part of its superfluous garden area as a solution of the botanical gardens difficulty?
§ The FIRST COMMISSIONER of WORKS (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)As I informed my hon. Friend in reply to his question on the 23rd July, I have no jurisdiction over any of the land occupied by Bedford College, which is leased to them by the Commissioners of Crown Lands. There has been no increase in the area devoted to games since the Inner Circle Gardens came into the charge of my Department, and, as I have already stated, the time has not yet arrived for a final decision on the future of the tennis courts. I do not admit the existence of the "difficulty" referred to in the last part of the question.