§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Who paid for the building of the Hayward Gallery, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room and whether they will be repaid if the present proposal to demolish these buildings is allowed to go ahead.
Viscount AstorThe buildings were planned and funded in the late 1960s by the then London City Council, and were subsequently transferred to the Greater London Council. In 1986, on the abolition of that body, the buildings and their freehold were vested in the Arts Council of Great Britain, along with the other buildings of the South Bank complex. The buildings now form a part of the South Bank Centre, for which the Arts Council has granted the South Bank Board a lease of 150 years.
The South Bank Board has proposals to replace the buildings with a new gallery and a new 1,000-seat concert hall, as well as a new smaller performance space, as part of the overall development of the site. The development would take place at no cost to the public purse and would give added value to the freehold held by the Arts Council. There is no question of demolition of the existing buildings until the new buildings which replace them have been completed.