§ LORD BURNTWOODMy 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 additional powers are required to prevent the destruction of Georgian and Victorian houses of merit in London; and whether the proposed destruction of such houses, details of which were recently published, in the interests of office construction, has been the subject of Government review and examination.
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT (BARONESS YOUNG)My Lords, since control of statutorily listed buildings was strengthened in 1968, and, in addition, Section 8 of the Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Act 1972 gave local planning authorities power to control the demolition of unlisted buildings in conservation areas, it is not considered that any additional powers are required. 1357 The lists of buildings of special historic or architectural interest are continually being reviewed and augmented.
§ LORD BURNTWOODMy Lords, while thanking the noble Baroness for that Answer, may I ask her whether she is aware that there appears to be some growing public disquiet at the ease with which permission is given to pull down certain buildings of merit, in the interests of office construction? May I also ask whether she sees something rather sinister in the large amount of money involved, when it is possible as a result of pulling down these old buildings to erect vast offices at huge prices?
§ BARONESS YOUNGMy Lords, if planning permission was asked for to demolish a listed building it would go, in the first instance, to the local planning authority, and if they wished to give permission for its demolition then the matter would have to be considered by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State. In 1972, in the Greater London area he gave consent for only nine listed buildings to be demolished. Furthermore, if it is a building of particular historic or architectural merit which appears to be threatened, a local authority can intervene and put a building preservation notice on it, which will give a respite for my right honourable friend the Secretary of State to consider the matter. I would rather not comment on the last part of the noble Lord's question, which I think is speculative.
§ LORD BURNTWOODMy Lords, may I further ask the noble Baroness whether it is not a fact that some planning authorities, or those authorities responsible for administering the Schedules, appear to be more efficient in controlling the situation than others? May I also ask whether her attention has been drawn to a recent publication which showed photographs of many buildings, some of them Victorian, which in this generation might not appear particularly interesting or of merit, yet in 10 or 15 years' time will be considered very meritorious?
§ BARONESS YOUNGMy Lords, if the noble Lord, Lord Burntwood, is referring the recently published book, Goodbye London, which I have looked at, my information is that, of all the buildings referred to in that book, one-third are 1358 at present listed; there are some 19,000 listed buildings in the Greater London area; and 4,000 buildings were added to that list last year—which, as I said in my original Answer, is being continually augmented and added to. Perhaps I should add that in the newspaper report on the book the comment is made—and I quote from the newspaper:
Not all are worth fighting to save, and not all will necessarily disappear".
§ LORD STRABOLGIMy Lords, arising out of what the noble Baroness said about not all buildings being worth saving, may I ask her what the Government's policy is towards preserving whole quarters, which I think is now allowed under current legislation?
§ BARONESS YOUNGMy Lords, the original Question I was asked in fact refers to Georgian and Victorian houses of merit. I appreciate the noble Lord's concern about areas of London, which I think is shared by many people, and if he would care to put down a Question on one particular area I shall do my best to answer it.