Editing London Eye (section)

=== Southbank Centre dispute ===
In May 2005, there were reports of a leaked letter showing that the [[Southbank Centre]] (SBC)—owners of part of the land on which the struts of the Eye are located—had served a notice to quit on the attraction along with a demand for an increase in rent from £65,000<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2005-10-27 |title=London Eye loses rent challenge |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/advice/london-eye-loses-rent-challenge-qkpnfpprkv7 |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=The Times |language=en}}</ref> per year to £2.5&nbsp;million{{Failed verification|date=April 2025}}, which the operator rejected as unaffordable.<ref name=":2">{{cite news |date=20 May 2005 |title=London Eye given eviction notice |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4564115.stm |access-date=7 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref>

Mayor [[Ken Livingstone]] pledged that if the dispute was not resolved he would ask the [[London Development Agency]] to issue a [[compulsory purchase order]].<ref>{{cite news |date=25 May 2005 |title=Mayor's 'prat' jibe over Eye row |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4581033.stm |access-date=7 January 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The land in question is a small part of the [[Jubilee Gardens, Lambeth|Jubilee Gardens]], which was given to the SBC for £1 when the [[Greater London Council]] was broken up.<ref name=":2" />

In February 2006, after a request for [[Judicial review in English law|judicial review]] was refused,<ref name=":1" /> a new 25-year lease was agreed under which the SBC would receive a percentage of the London Eye's turnover, with a minimum of £500,000 per year.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=13 February 2006 |title=Marks Barfield sell stake in the London Eye |url=https://www.building.co.uk/news/marks-barfield-sell-stake-in-the-london-eye/3062693.article |access-date=2025-04-17 |website=[[Building (magazine)|Building]] |language=en}}</ref>