The row over the rent for the London Eye site heated up this week when the attraction鈥檚 owner applied for a judicial review to halt the imminent increase in premiums.

The London Eye Company is fighting proposals by the South Bank Centre to raise rent from 拢65,000 to 拢2.5m a year.

In the SBC鈥檚 annual review, published this week, chairman Lord Hollick defended his intention to raise premiums as 鈥渇air and commercial鈥�, claiming it was in the public interest to raise the rent on the part of the land that houses Marks Barfield鈥檚 London landmark.

Hollick said: 鈥淭he SBC is here to run a world-class arts centre for the benefit of the entire community and it would be wrong to show special tenderness to a private enterprise commercial venture seeking to maximise its profits.鈥�

Hollick attacked accusations that the rent hike would be unreasonable.

He said: 鈥淚n May 2005 the Evening Standard published a malicious story that the SBC was threatening to dismantle the London Eye and was seeking an unreasonable increase in rent. Both allegations are false.鈥�