§ Mr. Fauldsasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will examine the projected developments at the Natural History Museum which entail the demolition of nine of the original galleries, in order to establish whether the alternative scheme of reconstruction put forward by the Greater London Council architectural expert Mr. John Bancroft is not less damaging to the design of Alfred Waterhouse and cheaper to carry out.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneThe Greater London Council's alternative scheme of reconstruction at the British Museum—Natural History—was considered at the non-statutory public inquiry in June 1979, and was fully taken into account in arriving at the decision announced on 8 August 1980 by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. This decision was to the effect that the scheme put forward by the museum's trustees should, subject to minor alterations to the proposed roof profile,44W be allowed to proceed, as it offered the best way of meeting the museum's operational needs. I see no grounds for suggesting to my right hon. Friend that he should reopen this matter.