XN000022-1985-06-12 — Page 43

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JUNE 12, 1985

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CONCERNING MURRAY HOUSE, THE SPOKESMAN SAID THERE WERE SEVERAL REASONS AGAINST IT BEING RE-SITED IN THIS AREA INCLUDING:

IT SEEMED TO THE COMMITTEE TO BE A GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY TO FINANCE AND SITE THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THIS OLD BUILDING IF GOVERNMENT FEELS THE BUILDING TO BE OF SUCH HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE.

GOVERNMENT HAS REJECTED OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION AND RE-USE OF MURRAY HOUSE ON THE GROUNDS THAT A NEW BUILDING COULD BE OBTAINED AT ROUGHLY HALF THE COST OF RE-ERECTING THE FABRIC OF THIS OLD MILITARY BUILDING, THE COUNCIL FEELS LIKEWISE. THE PRESERVATION OF OLD BUILDINGS IS A GOVERNMENT AND NOT AN URBAN COUNCIL

RESPONSIBILITY. IF THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT AFFORD IT, THE COUNCIL CERTAINLY CANNOT.

WHILE THE COUNCIL HAD NEVER BEEN ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSAL TO RE-ERECT THE BUILDING ON THE SITE OF THE INFANTS' SCHOOL INSIDE THE BARRACKS, IT HAD NOW BEEN ESTABLISHED THAT THIS SITE WAS TOO SMALL, AND VERY CONSIDERABLE AND EXPENSIVE SLOPE-CUTTING AND STABILISATION WORK WOULD BE NEEDED FIRST. THIS IN TURN WOULD ENTAIL THE LOSS OF A CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF ESTABLISHED TREES AND SHRUBS.

+AT PRESENT THIS BEAUTIFUL SITE IN THE HEART OF CENTRAL HAS ONLY ONE COMPLETED DEVELOPMENT, WHICH IS THE FLAGSTAFF HOUSE MUSEUM OF TEA WARE,+ SAID THE SPOKESMAN.

+A SQUASH COMPLEX FOR THE COUNCIL IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT ONE END OF THE SITE.

+THE COUNCIL IS ANXIOUS TO GET THE AGREEMENT OF THE GOVERNMENT TO MOVE AHEAD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE WITH A REVISED DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT INCORPORATING AN OVERALL PLAN,

THE BASIS OF WHICH WILL INVOLVE THE DEMOLITION OF ALL UNNECESSARY BUILDINGS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF LARGE GARDEN AREAS WITH A VARIETY OF PASSIVE RECREATION FEATURES.

THE CHAIRMAN OF THE URBAN COUNCIL WILL SHORTLY BE PUTTING DETAILS OF THE REVISED DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT TO THE GOVERNMENT.

TODAY'S MEETING WAS CHAIRED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, MR HOWARD YOUNG, AND WAS ATTENDED BY THE SECRETARY FOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES, MR GRAHAM BARNES.

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