§ 2.35 p.m.
§ LORD ILFORDMy 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 is the present position with regard to Whitehall: a Plan for the National and Government Centre"; what, if any, decisions have been taken with regard to this plan and the various proposals which it contains; and whether this House will be given an opportunity to debate this plan before final decisions are reached.]
§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOEMy Lords, in view of the importance of the Whitehall site, not only to the United Kingdom but to the Commonwealth, my right honourable friend the Minister of Public Building and Works has arranged for new plans and models to be made available to Parliament and to the public, so that reactions to the proposal will be known before further steps are taken. A new Parliamentary building is proposed to the North of Bridge Street, with an entrance below the road from New Palace Yard. A Commonwealth competition will be launched early next year to select the architect. A new Government Office building, together with other facilities, is proposed on the remainder of the site between Bridge Street and Richmond Terrace. Proposals for a North South riverside tunnel and a one-way system round the Broad Sanctuary site are also displayed for comment.
Mr. Denys Lasdun has been commissioned to carry out a feasibility study for comprehensive development of the Broad 806 Sanctuary site. Redevelopment of the Foreign Office site will be considered at a later stage. Noble Lords will, I am sure, have views on all these proposals and may well wish to debate them at a suitable time after the public exhibition.
§ LORD ILFORDMy Lords, is the noble Baroness able to say what final decision has been taken on the plan, and whether any final decision has been taken?
§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOENo, my Lords. These plans are there for your Lordships' and the public's inspection and we shall react to them and to whatever criticisms and encouragements may come.
§ LORD ILFORDMy Lords, has any final decision been taken with regard to Richmond Terrace?
§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOEMy Lords, it has always been envisaged that Richmond Terrace would be demolished. It is an attractive facade, but the accommodation is very sub-standard. Both the noble Lord, Lord Holford, and Sir Leslie Martin, and the two public authorities concerned, as well as the Royal Fine Art Commission, have agreed to the demolition.
§ LORD ILFORDMy Lords, is it not the case that buildings are always described as "sub-standard" when people want to destroy them?
VISCOUNT ST. DAVIDSMy Lords, will my noble friend recognise my peculiar interest in the buildings in Richmond Terrace, in that I was born in No.3? And will she, in these circumstances, let my noble relative, Lady Strange, and myself, and any other noble Lords who are interested, take a look at this building before it is demolished?
§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOEYes, indeed, my Lords; I should be very glad to lead them on a conducted tour.
§ LORD LEATHERLANDMy Lords, I wonder whether my noble friend could arrange for the facade to be preserved when any new building is carried out there, in the same way as a very distinguished architect suggested should be done for the Tate Gallery.
§ BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES OF HASTOEMy Lords, that suggestion will of course be borne in mind. But I should be deceiving the House if I did not say that it would be an extremely expensive operation.
LORD INGLEWOODMy Lords, the noble Baroness, in her reply, mentioned the new Parliamentary building. I wonder whether she could say what facilities for Members of your Lordships' House are going to be included in the new Parliamentary building, because some people might consider some of the facilities in this building sub-standard.
BARONESS LLEWELYN-DAVIES or HASTOEMy Lords, while I agree with the last part of the noble Lord's question, I would point out that the Fourth Report of the Select Committee, 1967–68, laid down in some considerable detail what kind of accommodation should be available in the new Parliamentary building.