Further memorandum submitted by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office
DUBLIN: THE RESIDENCE
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth
Office, 18 June 2003
I want to let you, and your colleagues, know
that we have decided that it now makes sense for our Ambassador
at Dublin to remain at his current Residence, Glencairn, rather
than move to Marlay Grange, the property we acquired in early
2000. Since this decision is likely to attract some press interest,
I should like to brief the Committee on the background.
In 1999, my predecessor, with the agreement
of Ministers, authorised the sale of some 35 acres of land adjoining
the house at Glencairn. The land was surplus to our operational
needs, and was not necessary on security grounds. By virtue of
a more permissive planning environment the area in question had
acquired huge developmental value. We were able to sell the land
for £24.3 million. The sale made a major contribution to
the FCO's Asset Recycling Programme and enabled us to boost our
investment in much needed IT and Estate Modernisation.
We decided, at the time, that we should also
dispose of the house itself. Members will recall the tragic death
of Christopher Ewart Biggs in 1976. In 1999 Glencairn was regarded
by our security experts as vulnerable, not least because there
was only one access route from the Residence to the offices. There
were also concerns that, having sold the land adjoining the Residence,
the developer concerned might pursue a high-density development
strategy surrounding Glencairn. We therefore decided that we should
seek to identify a new Residence for our Ambassador. We examined
a very wide range of options.
Finding a suitable replacement for Glencairn
proved difficult, not least because of the strict security criteria
we needed to heed. In 2000 we identified the Marlay Grange property.
We were also fortunate in being able to agree with the purchaser
of Glencairn that we could retain the house itself for as long
as it took to refurbish Marlay Grange.
In accordance with best practice stipulated
by the Office of Government Commerce, I am required regularly
to review our estate investment decisions to ensure that they
still best meet our business needs and represent value for money.
Officials recently carried out such a review on Glencairn/Marlay
Grange, rather than remaining at Glencairn, does neither best
meet our operational needs, nor represent value for money for
the British taxpayer. Infrastructure changes around Glencairn
mean that the Ambassador now enjoys the benefit of several routes
from his Residence to the office. Equally, we deem that recent
developments have made Marlay Grange less attractive from a security
point of view: the local authority has authorised the presence
of large-scale pop concerts in the vicinity. From a financial
point of view, our analysis also suggests that the strategy to
develop Marlay Grange would be more expensive than remaining at
Glencairn. So there is a strong value for money argument to remain
there.
The decision to remain at Glencairn will, of
course, in no way detract from the fact that we have already made
over £24 million out of our estate in Dublin. But, in deciding
to remain there the taxpayer will also be £1.6 million better
off.
Given the security concerns pertaining in 1999
I am sure it was right to decide that we should move out of Glencairn.
But I am equally convinced, given the very different circumstances
that now prevail, and having visited both properties myself, that
it makes sense for us to reverse that decision and stay at Glencairn.
I shall be happy to discuss this issue in more
detail when we meet on 24 June.
Sir Michael Jay KCMG,
The Permanent Under Secretary of State, Foreign and
Commonwealth Office
June 2003
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