HC Deb 09 February 1973 vol 850 cc209-10W
Mrs. Lena Jeger

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what proposals have been submitted to him regarding the future of Cambridge Circus; and whether he will sanction the proposed payment by Camden Council of £630,000 to the Greater London Council for sites in this area which the Greater London Council is prepared to sell to developers for £625,000.

Mr. Rippon

Apart from the proposals for the Covent Garden comprehensive development area which affect a small part of Cambridge Circus, no proposals have been submitted to me; nor have I received any approach from Camden council regarding the purchase of sities in this area from the Greater London Council.

Mrs. Lena Jeger

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will freeze all existing planning consents in the central London area pending reconsideration of the plans for Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Bloomsbury and Soho.

Mr. Rippon

The responsibility for considering how far individual proposals in these areas should proceed in advance of decisions on more comprehensive schemes lies with the local planning authorities, and they have powers to take revocation action where development which is thought to be inconsistent with those plans has already been permitted. In particular cases, where it seems to be appropriate, I can use my powers to "call-in" certain applications.

Mrs. Lena Jeger

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether, in view of the reconsideration of the plans for Covent Garden, he will consider finding a site for the National Library in this area in order to save over seven acres of Bloomsbury from demolition.

Mr. Rippon

No. The White Paper on the British Library (Cmnd. 4572), presented to Parliament in January 1971 by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster-General stated that the site for the new building would be in the seven acres adjacent to the British Museum and that an investigation had shown it was possible to meet the library's needs on this site, while preserving all the more important listed buildings and making space for at least as much housing as under earlier plans.