Pricing Out the Science?

In the 1850's, Queen Victoria set up the buildings around Burlington House in Central London, as a 'cultural hub' for the Arts and Sciences. Since that time, it has been home to 5 Learned Societies. These include the Geological Society, the Linnean Society, the Royal Astronomical Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Society of Antiquaries of London. In 1858, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace gave their seminal lectures on the theory of Evolution (a cornerstone of modern Biology), in the Linnean Society building. In 2014, the UK government changed its accounting policy for Burlington House (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/28/under-threat-the-birthplace-of-darwins-historic-theory). It decreed that Burlington House should, in future, be treated as an investment property. That meant extracting a rent reflecting its prime location. Between 2014 and 2020, rents for the societies have gone up more than 3000%. The societies get their finance from member's subscriptions and sometimes from profits made by their journals. There is every likelihood that this cluster of expertise will be driven out of central London. This is a great pity, because the proximities of these bodies to eachother has been a source of strength. We are always told that the UK values Science (just not as much as rent)?