HC Deb 28 April 1993 vol 223 c945
4. Sir Roger Moate

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are his proposals for the future of the Department of the Environment and Department of Transport buildings in Marsham street; and if he will make a statement.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Environment (Mr. Tony Baldry)

No. 2 Marsham street will be demolished—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hurrah".]—as soon as possible when alternative accommodation has been identified and is available.

Sir Roger Moate

Is my hon. Friend aware that his Department of the Environment building is one of the few buildings that actually looks better when it is covered with scaffolding and dust sheets and that the sooner it comes down, the better the environment will be? However, the important question is whether we will be mean minded or far sighted and imaginative about the use of that six acre site at the heart of the capital. Is my hon. Friend aware of the competition launced by Building Design and the comments of the Royal Fine Art Commission on the use of that site? Will he persuade his right hon. Friends to accept that we do not want more an more offices built on the site and that we want the site to be used imaginatively with the possibility of public open space or other forms of public benefit?

Mr. Baldry

One of the advantages of being an Environment Minister is that, looking out of the window of the building, one does not have to see the Department of the Environment.

Clearly, the site is important, and we will give careful consideration to the idea of a design competition. We want to ensure that the building that replaces 2 Marsham street is not merely better than what we have now—that will not be difficult—but a building of which we can be proud, on architectural and aesthetic grounds, for many years to come.

Mr. Skinner

Will the many people who work at the Departments of the Environment and of Transport be compensated for any move that takes place? Is the Minister aware that the trade unions involved are very anxious to remain on the site? Why should they be kicked out at the whim of the Government, who are almost certainly hellbent on lining some developer's back pocket, while at the same time bailing out the developers at Canary wharf?

Mr. Baldry

That is a pretty drivelly question, even by the hon. Gentleman's standards. The staff with whom we work at Marsham street are consulted closely and kept in touch with information about where the new building is to be. We are as anxious as they are to move to a decent working environment. A building that is likely to fall down in the next two years is not the best place in which to work.