§ Lord Kennetasked the Chairman of Committees:
Whether any amenity societies were consulted about the recent conversion of Black Rod's Garden; and, if so, what were their views.
§ The Chairman of Committees (Lord Boston of Faversham):A number of societies and other bodies were consulted by the City of Westminster as part of their planning approval process, including the Victorian Society, the Westminster Society, the Thorney Island Society, English Heritage, the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the Royal Fine Art Commission.
The consultation process enabled objections raised by the above societies to be accommodated in the final proposal, and in the end only the Victorian Society and the Royal Fine Art Commission had objections outstanding. In both cases the objection was to the general principle that Black Rod's Garden be converted into a service area.