Member

Turning to what is planned in this project, it is for a learning experience in exhibition spaces that are entirely underground. Presumably this was the architect’s solution to the constraints of the site vis-à-vis a large enough building above ground, but it is a poor solution from the point of view of those paying to visit it. They will be cooped up in cramped galleries with no natural light and with limited coverage of the Holocaust. It is also a poor solution from the point of view of the extra cost in construction and the risk of flood or fire in underground galleries. Therefore, these amendments propose that if a learning centre is to be constructed, it should be above ground, not below ground. The excavation required to build underground is enormous. The plan is to build more than eight metres down to achieve the dimensions that are proposed: 31 by 100 metres. This means that the total volume of soil to be removed amounts to 24,800 cubic metres. The design requires a basement box with concrete heavy construction consisting of many piles around the box. No figures have been provided for the extra cost of these underground exhibition spaces, and I will be very grateful to my noble friend the Minister if, when he replies, he can tell the Committee exactly how much more building underground in this way is going to cost.