RCA backs out of extension battle

A £30 million extension to the Royal College of Art has been abandoned because the college cannot risk the heavy costs of a public inquiry it may not win.

Plans for the six-storey building in South Kensington, dubbed the Ellipse, were first submitted to Westminster Council in 2001. The college claimed the building, designed by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, was required for new arts and digital equipment studios.

But objectors led by the Royal Albert Hall, Sir Cliff Richard and wealthy local residents said the modernist concrete-and-glass structure would ruin historic views.

They were enraged when RCA director and Arts Council chairman Sir Christopher Frayling said: "I can't worry too much about the Albert Hall views. We need the new building... South Kensington is about the future, not just the past."

Westminster Council approved the plans conditionally in February but in April Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was presented with a 10,000-signature petition demanding a public inquiry. He was also advised by expert officials and in June ordered the inquiry.

The public hearing was set to begin in December, but the RCA has now pulled out, citing the anticipated ?1million cost of the inquiry.