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Plans for £288m concert hall championed by Sir Simon Rattle scrapped

Plans for a £288 million London concert hall championed by Sir Simon Rattle have been scrapped.

The Centre for Music was first proposed as a home for the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) in 2015 when Britain’s preeminent composer was announced as director of the ensemble.

But just one month after Sir Simon announced he would move to Germany at the end of his contract, plans for the concert hall he campaigned for have been abandoned.

The composer said the reasons for leaving were personal, but it was reported that his work with the LSO was linked to the future of the hall, which appeared less likely to be built within the next decade.

The City of London Corporation said that given the current “unprecedented circumstances” plans for a Centre for Music “will not be progressed”, while pledging financial support for the LSO’s current venue a the Barbican.

The project was believed to have been a reason why Sir Simon took the role at the LSO, and George Osbourne backed the project championed by the composer.

But after the Treasury pulled out in 2016 the project required £288 million in funding from private donations, with plans to pay for itself through office rental at the intended site where the Museum of London now stands.

The Museum of London was in turn meant to vacate and move to Smithfield Market, but traders have extended their leases until 2028, meaning the four-year building project for the Centre for Music would not be completed until 2032.

Sir Simon announced in January that intended to leave the LOS in 2023 and take up a role with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Munich, closer to his family who are based in Germany. 

Source: msn.com
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