§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how and when the Government and the Post Office obtained Bletchley Park; [15674]
(2) how much was paid, and to whom, from Bletchley Park. [15838]
§ Mr. FreemanResponsibility for this matter has been delegated under the terms of its framework document to the Property Advisers to the civil Estate under its chief executive, Mr. Neil Borrett. The agency is therefore responding to these questions.
Letter from N. E. Borrett to Mr. Peter Bottomley, dated 17 February 1997:
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has asked me to respond to your two Questions on Bletchley Park.The freehold of the entire site was acquired by the predecessors of the Secretary of State for the Environment (Ministry of Works) assembling a number of parcels of land and buildings by means of nine separate conveyances between the years 1937 and 1964. A substantial portion of the site comprising 26 acres, was sold at privatisation to British Telecom, in 1984 for £2.3 million, leaving a residue of approximately 31.4 acres with the Secretary of State.Unfortunately the records and deeds in our possession do not go back to the original conveyances. The property now comprises seven registered titles. However, there is mention in the deeds of Ernest Ingram being the vendor for two parcels, together with SS Holdings on a further parcel. The purchase price for the largest of these three areas amounted to £3,300 in 1952, whilst for the smaller one the consideration was £120 in 1949.My understanding is that the land was originally acquired for the government's Code and Cipher school, which subsequently became part of GCHQ after the war.Under the "Crichel Down" rules we are not required to offer the land back to former owners where the use has materially changed. Our view is that the use has materially changed and we do not intend to offer back.