§ Mrs. Lena Jegerasked the Postmaster-General why the site of St. Peter's Church, Regent Square, W.C.1, is required for an extension to a telephone exchange; and what representations he has received from the local planning authority.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterThe capacity of the present telephone exchange in Gray's Inn Road will be exhausted by 1974. We therefore need to build a relief exchange to meet the expanding demand for telephone service in the area. The adjacent site of St. Peter's Church is the only known suitable one which could be made available in time.
The Ministry of Public Building and Works, negotiating on our behalf as agents of the Post Office, received objections from the local planning authority to the proposed use of the site for a telephone exchange. A meeting is being arranged with the planning authority to discuss the matter further. We would be willing to build on an alternative site if a wholly suitable one could be found.