§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what their intentions are with regard to the possible redevelopment of the St. Pancras—King's Cross area of London, and the preservation of the listed buildings there.]
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF HOUSING AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT (LORD KENNET)My Lords, British Rail are 1034 studying proposals to concentrate traffic on either King's Cross or St. Pancras station, and to give up one of them. It will be several years before any proposal can be carried into effect, and it will be a year or more before British Rail can judge the relative advantages of retaining one station or the other. There are other problems affecting this area, including provision of interchange of different forms of transport, and major road proposals. My right honourable friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government will have to give decisions in due course on any proposals, in the exercise of his statutory powers. While the Minister obviously could not come to any formal decision on the issue of preservation at this stage, he would be most unlikely to agree to demolition unless convinced that preservation was incompatible with imperative operational requirements, and that there was no possible alternative use for the building.
§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for his reply. May I ask him two questions arising from it? Suppose it were considered unnecessary for St. Pancras Station to be used any more, would it be possible for the Minister to assert his good offices so that the hotel was retained as a hotel? Secondly, will he do his best to ensure that the terrible destruction which occurred at Euston is not carried out at either St. Pancras or King's Cross?
§ LORD KENNETMy Lords, on the first supplementary, one may envisage many alternative uses for St. Pancras Chambers, and these alternative uses will be examined with great care by all the relevant authorities in the near future. On the second supplementary question, I know that the destruction of the Doric arch at Euston is something which, rightly in my view, raised strong passions in this House and in the country, and the House may be assured that my right honourable friend will take every step open to him to avoid a repetition of any such destruction.
§ LORD AMULREEMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his reply, which gives me a considerable amount of comfort.