§ 2.50 p.m.
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, I beg to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether permission has been sought for the construction of a fourteen-storey hotel on the Montagu House site in Portman Square and, if so, what stage has been reached in the negotiations.]
LORD LLOYDMy Lords, I am informed that an application was made on July 14, 1951, to the London County Council, as local planning authority, for permission to erect a fourteen-storey hotel on the island site to the north-west of Portman Square, which includes the site of Montagu House and is bounded by Upper Berkeley Street, Montagu Street, Upper George Street and Gloucester Place. Permission was refused on November 5, 1951. I understand that the reason for the refusal was that while the County Council do not object in principle to hotel development on this site, they do object to the proposed incorporation in the building of an air 660 passenger terminal facing Upper Berkeley Street, as being out of keeping with the residential character of the surrounding area. I believe that no further application has yet been made, but that informal consultations have been taking place between the developers and representatives of the County Council.
§ LORD MANCROFTMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for his reply, I should like to ask him the following supplementary question. If the further negotiations to which he referred should prove successful and permission is eventually given to build the hotel, would the fact that the steel and other materials are to come from outside this country take the proposal outside the present restrictions on buildings of this type?
LORD LLOYDMy Lords, I really cannot anticipate the situation, because no planning permission has yet been given. However, I should have thought that if steel were supplied by an American company without any foreign exchange being involved, that would not be a deterrent to building the hotel.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, I should like to ask whether Her Majesty's Government are aware, first, that the air terminal scheme has been dropped, and secondly, that it is calculated that 3,000,000 dollars' worth of tourist trade will be attracted by this hotel.
LORD LLOYDMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government are aware that the hotel might attract a good deal of tourist trade. But the matter is not yet one for the Government. It is still a matter for the local authority, and negotiations are still taking place. I do not think I can anticipate what those negotiations will produce.
LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, I am sorry to press the noble Lord, but, further to the supplementary question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Mancroft, I should like to ask whether the Government are aware that not only all the steel but also all the other equipment is being brought from outside, so that our own programme will not be affected.