§ 23. Brigadier Medlicottasked the Minister of Town and Country Planning if he is aware of the improvement in the appearance of the precincts of Westminster Abbey and Middlesex Guildhall which has resulted from the demolition of the former Westminster Hospital building; and if consideration is being given to the possibility of preserving the site as an open space.
§ Mr. DaltonParliament has already approved the building of the new Colonial Office on this site.
§ Brigadier MedlicottWas not this a case where town planning provisions Could have been made effective not only against the small property owners but also against the great State Departments? Secondly, is it not highly unsatisfactory from a strategic point of view to go on crowding Government buildings into the centre of London?
§ Mr. DaltonIt was gone into very fully in the last Parliament, as the hon. and gallant Gentleman knows. There was an Act on the subject. The Bill received Royal Assent on 31st July, 1947. The matter was gone into very fully and it was thought, on balance, that this was the best use of the site. From the point of view of amenity, the building is, of course, to be set back and it will occupy only two-thirds of the space of the hospital building which was there previously.
§ Mr. KeelingIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that a much better view of the Abbey could be obtained from the riverside and even from across the river if Abingdon Street were cleared of houses, as it is to be, and kept clear?
§ Mr. DaltonThat we will carefully consider.
§ Brigadier MedlicottIs the Minister aware that those of us who are Methodists are very pleased with the improved view of the Central Hall and hope that it will remain permanently?