SAVE was forced to withdraw its action an hour before the case was due to be heard in court after it received the papers of the Treasury Solicitor at 6.30pm the night before. Crucially, these contained a statement from Joyce Bridges at the Government Office for London answering our key question: did the Secretary of State consider the application to meet his criteria for a public inquiry or not? Mrs Bridges said that he accepted that it did, but that he considered that the Corporation of London had properly considered all the relevant issues and that a public inquiry was therefore not necessary.

It might have been possible to go on and contest that assertion, particularly on the basis of the advice from English Heritage, but because the Secretary of State has wide discretionary powers it is very difficult to challenge him on the merits of a specific case. Our chances of success would have been slim (but nevertheless worth pursing) had it not been for the threat of damages from Swiss Re and Kvaerner, who claimed project costs in excess of £10,000 a day, if we lost. We were therefore advised not to proceed.

The failure of SAVE's High Court challenge means that there are seemingly no barriers left to the demolition of the Baltic Exchange. Work is expected to start on site on January 3rd next year. If no viable proposals to re-erect the Exchange Hall elsewhere emerge, which seems highly likely, then the marble, joinery, glass and other fittings will be sold through architectural salvage merchants. The magnificent war memorial, however, is to be reerected in a new pavilion alongside the Gherkin.