§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Royal Parks have complied with Environmental Guidance 18/84 in their proposal to erect an auditorium for 17, 500 people for a series of pop concerts in Hyde Park this summer. [HL1297]
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyResponsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Royal Parks Agency under its Chief Executive, David Welch. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Lord Kennet from the Head of Policy of the Royal Parks Agency, Ms Viviane Robertson, dated 9 March 1999.
I have been asked by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to reply to your Parliamentary Question about whether the Agency has made an application under Department of Environment Circular 18/84 to erect an auditorium for a series of concerts in Hyde Park. This is an operational matter, which is the responsibility of the Chief Executive, Mr. David Welch, and I have been asked to reply in his absence.
Since the site will not be used for long enough to constitute a change of use under the Town and Country Planning Act, no formal application is required under the Circular 18/84 procedures. However, the agency works closely with both Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police over arrangements for all but small-scale events planned for Hyde Park.