HC Deb 17 November 1959 vol 613 cc961-4
25. Mr. K. Robinson

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if the development proposals for the northern sector of Piccadilly Circus have yet been submitted to him for his approval; what decision he has reached; and what steps he will take to ensure that development of the whole Piccadilly Circus area proceeds on an integrated rather than a piecemeal basis.

Mr. H. Brooke

This application was dealt with by the London County Council, as local planning authority, after considering points raised by the Royal Fine Art Commission. I am in touch with the London County Council on the issue raised in the last part of the Question.

Mr. Robinson

Does the Minister appreciate the widespread dismay that has greeted this vulgar and unimaginative proposal for the development of what is, perhaps, the most famous site in the British Commonwealth? Is he saying that he has no powers himself to stop a development of this kind? Will he not do what he can to help the London County Council to develop the whole area along the lines of the very interesting plan which it published about a year ago?

Mr. Brooke

I am very anxious that this development should go forward on wise lines, but it is impossible to redevelop simultaneously an area much of which, probably, has many years to stand. The Royal Fine Art Commission was consulted about this proposal. It certainly did not use the opprobrious terms which the hon. Member has used. It made two criticisms, one of which the Council met, but the other of which the Council did not see its way to meet.

Mr. Gresham Cooke

Will my right hon. Friend agree that the Royal Fine Art Commission at least disapproved of the architectural treatment of this building? Will he further agree that a lot of people are very concerned about the idea of putting up a 13-storey building on the north side of Piccadilly Circus?

Mr. Brooke

I am not anxious to take all these matters out of the hands of the local planning authority. I think that planning on the whole is best done by the local authority, although decisions often give rise to controversy. The point of which the Royal Fine Art Commission, an authoritative body, actually disapproved was the somewhat minor one that it thought that there ought not to be blank spaces left for the display of advertisements, but that the advertisements should, as it were, cover the windows and the general features of the building.

Mr. Grimond

Can the Minister confirm that he has certain residual powers in this matter which he can still use, and that, if necessary, he will not shrink from using them?

Mr. Brooke

I understand that the London County Council has informed the developers that permission will be given subject to certain conditions. If the London County Council can solve this problem satisfactorily, I am not anxious to take what would be the very exceptional step of intervening.

Mr. Bevan

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that opinion in all parts of the House would favour some planned development of this area satisfactory to national sentiment as a whole, and not only to the London County Council? Is not this a matter that transcends the functions of the London County Council alone, and is it not correct to say that, even if many of these leases and hereditaments will not fall in to be rebuilt for a period of years, there ought to be some unified conception of what it is we are ultimately going to achieve there, and, therefore, the individual building in the meantime ought to obey that general conception? Will he place before the House of Commons for our consideration a model of the area intended to be planned?

Mr. Brooke

I will certainly consider whether the model, photographs of which were published last year, can be obtained and put in the House. I have assured the House in answer to the original Question that I was in touch with the Council on the general issue of whether the whole area could be redeveloped on an integrated basis. I am sure that the right hon. Gentleman himself realises that when individual projects come along, perhaps at widely different times, it is not possible to hold up one of them until complete redevelopment takes place.

Mr. Bevan

May I follow up this matter a little further? If the individual project which is before us at the moment does not obey the general discipline of the major design, then, ultimately, there will be no design at all. We ought to know at the moment not whether the London County Council is solving the problem, but how it is going to solve it, and how the buildings proposed will harmonise with what we hope will be the general development of the area?

Mr. Brooke

I can give the right hon. Gentleman the assurance that the building that is in process of being approved by the London County Council is generally in line with the model showing the whole lay-out of the surroundings of Piccadilly Circus.

Mr. Speaker

This is a matter of wide interest, but we cannot carry it further at Question Time.

Mr. Robinson

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply to the first part of my Question, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter at the earliest opportunity on the Motion for the Adjournment.