Archway Tower, London (Hansard, 4 March 1999)

§ Mr. Kilfoyle

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated under the terms of the Framework Document to the Property Advisers to the Civil Estate. I have asked its Chief Executive, Mr. John Locke, to write to my hon. Friend.

Letter from John Locke to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated March 1999:

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Peter Kilfoyle, has asked me as Chief Executive of Property Advisers to the Civil Estate (PACE) to respond to your Parliamentary Question about capital expenditure and income from lettings on Archway Tower.I believe you are already aware that Archway Tower forms part of the portfolio of vacant office buildings declared surplus by Other Government Departments and inherited by PACE on 1 April 1996.The state of repair of Archway Tower was in breach of the terms of the lease and left the building incapable of occupation. Following abortive surrender negotiations with the landlords, and in an effort to defray the costs of holding Archway Tower, a decision was taken in March 1998 to refurbish the building and bring it into a usable condition.Archway Tower has remain vacant since April 1995 and there have been no lettings since that date due to the condition of the building. Similarly, during the last 7 months of refurbishment work the building has been unoccupiable.Capital expenditure and income from lettings from when PACE assumed responsibility for Archway Tower is as follows:

£million
Date	Capital expenditure	Income
1 April 1996–31 March 1997	nil	nil
1 April 1997–31 March 1998	nil	nil
1 April 1998-to date	3.498	nil

Refurbishment work is expected to be complete by April 1999 and the Agency hopes to have tenants in place later in the year. With the likelihood of the grant of a rent free period to offset the fit out costs of a future occupier, I do not envisage any income from letting during the 1999–2000 Financial Year.