Letter: Learning or luxury at County Hall

Sir: One of the former functions of County Hall was to share with other cities information about London's endeavours. In the Eighties, an invitation from St John the Divine Cathedral, New York, to consult on the problems and achievements of London and New York, was accepted by the then director-general of the GLC, Sir James Swaffield. He and I preached a dialogue sermon in the cathedral at a service attended by elected New York councillors, after which we were closely cross-

examined.

LSE, sited near Parliament, could carry on a valuable work of information and co-operation. No doubt a luxury hotel would yield more cash in the short run, but at the centre of one of the world's great cities, it is wise to take a long-term approach; a place of information and learning in this position would do more for London and enable the deeper values of our society to be more widely

appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

ALAN WEBSTER

Norwich

10 August

The writer was Dean of St Paul's, 1978-87.