§ 56. Mr. W. W. Astorasked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that London hotels are not filled to capacity for many months in the year and that already the owners of one large modern West End hotel have applied for permission to sell their premises for use as offices, he will refrain from giving licences for the construction of a large new hotel while the present housing shortage exists.
§ Mr. HopkinsonI cannot accept the implications in my hon. Friend's Question. London is very short of modern first-class hotel accommodation during the season from March to October, and any reduction in the number of hotels would obviously worsen the position. No decision has yet been reached on the proposal that a new hotel should be built in London, but it would be wrong to assume that this project would necessarily conflict with the housing programme.