§ 2.51 p.m.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask His Majesty's Government when an announcement may be expected about the arrangements for the proposed open competition for the design of the Terminal Buildings at London Airport.]
THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION (LORD PAKENHAM)My Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Viscount for giving me an opportunity to make a statement about this matter. When my predecessor, the noble Lord, Lord Winster, announced that he proposed to throw open the final design of the Terminal Building at London Airport to public competition, it was the intention to build temporary buildings on the terminal site in the first place and later to replace these by permanent construction. It is now clear that pressure on space in the central area will be too great to allow this transitional plan to be carried out, and I therefore propose that the Terminal Building shall be in permanent construction from the start. The final requirements for the terminal 1041 area have become settled only after a considerable period of development, in the course of which it has become clear that the work is not an appropriate subject for open competition. After consultation with Mr. Graham Dawbarn, who was to have been assessor for the competition, and with the appropriate authorities, I now propose to appoint as architect for the permanent building Mr. Frederick Gibberd, who since October, 1948, has been consulting architect for the interim scheme and has already acquired during its planning stage a considerable experience of the problems generated by the complex and functional layout of a great modern international airport. I thought it right to place this matter before the House in view of the earlier statement made to your Lordships.
§ VISCOUNT SWINTONMy Lords, I am much obliged to the noble Lord for his statement. I can well understand that in a highly technical matter of this kind it is important to secure the best and most experienced technical expert we can, and that it would not be a wholly suitable subject for competition among architects at large. While I appreciate that, it is important that the buildings should be as agreeable in their aspect as possible in addition to being as convenient as possible, and I should like to be sure that due attention is being paid to that side of the matter.
LORD PAKENHAMMy Lords, I thank the noble Viscount for his remarks, and assure him that great attention is being paid to the point he has mentioned.