APPENDIX 68
Memorandum submitted by Greater London
Authority
THE MAYOR'S VIEW ON REDEVELOPMENT OF THE
SOUTH BANK CENTRE
1. The South Bank Centre—with its
constituent institutions—is a major facility for Londoners,
as well as for other regional and overseas visitors. However,
its current physical condition is inconsistent with its status
as an international centre of excellence for the arts. The buildings
have suffered from a lack of investment in their fabric, the environment
is often unpleasant and unwelcoming, and accessibility is limited.
2. It has reached a crucial stage in its
history, the post of Chief Executive is currently unfilled, a
new Chair, Lord Hollick, has just been instated. Furthermore,
the proposed building redevelopment is much needed as the fabric
of the buildings and the surrounding environment is in need of
extensive repair and refurbishment with redevelopment and enhancement
long overdue.
The Mayor's key objectives for the South Bank
are as follows
3. To achieve a world class cultural quarter
and state of the art facilities that can compete internationally,
and deliver an arts led renaissance to the South Bank area.
4. To create a world class city park for
London on the South Bank at Jubilee Gardens.
5. To retain the London Eye and to accommodate
appropriate access proposals associated with the new park.
6. To recognise the stategically important
location of the South Bank to Central London, Waterloo and the
connections to international, national, and regional and local
transport nodes.
7. To develop a coherent transport and pedestrian
strategy for the wider area and significant reductions in the
provision of car parking space. This includes the development
of a co-ordinated strategy for dealing with coach parking.
8. To work closely with the SBC board. The
SBC has suffered from the lack of a single voice for London that
had the power and influence to resolve its difficulties. With
the appointment of Lord Hollick, the GLA and the board of the
SBC must work closely together to improve SBC facilities and those
of the surrounding area with a view to the GLA eventually taking
responsibility for the governance of the organisation.
9. To work closely with DCMS and the Arts
Council. The GLA Culture Unit has agreed with DCMS officers to
work closely with them, and the Arts Council of England (and,
by extension the London Arts Board as another interested party)
to ensure that the SBC receives appropriate, consistent support
from relevant agencies.
10. To improve the site. The Mayor's draft
London Plan will recognise that the site needs careful redevelopment
with removal of the walkways, links to the new pedestrian bridges
across the Thames and the sensitive introduction of street level
activities such as shops and cafes.
11. To improve significantly the area and
make it attractive to day and night-time visitors, forming part
of a vibrant cultural quarter linked to the Tate Modern at Bankside
and provides an alternative to the facilities on offer in central
London.
12. To provide a coherent strategic framework
for development of the South Bank. The core GLA together with
its functional bodies has responsibility for culture, transport,
planning, and economic development and thus the power and influence
(and overview) to deliver the redevelopment of the SBC into the
major, world-class facility it should be. With the development
of his Culture Strategy for London, the Mayor will have a unique
resource to aid cultural planning across London and the SBC and
its potential future developments is a key factor in the development
of a London-wide cultural strategy.
Culture Strategy background
13. The Culture Strategy is a statutory
document to be produced by the Mayor after receiving advice from
the Culture Strategy Group (CSG). The CSG was set up in accordance
with the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
14. There are 25 members of the CSG and
they are charged with the responsibility of presenting to the
Mayor a "draft strategy containing proposed policies with
respect to culture, media and sport in Greater London."
15. The CSG has submitted their advice to
the Mayor who wishes to make some modifications before the draft
strategy goes out to consultation. Officers are revising the document
to ensure that the added value of the GLA is clearly articulated,
and that proposed strategic interventions are informed by robust
data, and a strong evidence base.
16. Once these revisions have been carried
out, the document will be submitted for scrutiny to the Greater
London Assembly Investigative Committee on Culture, and then sent
out for wider consultation to the cultural sector.
15 March 2002
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