A weekly round up of the latest planning and property news from the central London boroughs

Camden 

Property week reports that LBS Properties has let two-thirds of 107 Gray’s Inn Road to NASDAQ-listed consulting and engineering firm Tetra Tech. The deal, secured by Allsop on behalf of the landlord, will see the Tetra Tech occupy the ground, first and second floors of the Clerkenwell office building on a 10-year lease, at £58/ sq ft. The 6,600 sq ft letting leaves just under 4,000 sq ft available in the five-storey asset. Acting on behalf of LBS Real Estate Investment fund, LBS Properties has refurbished the east London building, introducing a number of new amenities including cycle facilities and a new courtyard.

The Evening Standard reports that work to create two pop-up cycle lanes in Euston Road will start today. This will result in the “polluted and hostile” road being narrowed by a lane in both directions. A 20mph speed limit will also be imposed when the work is completed in about a month.

City of London 

To mark London Climate Action Week, the City of London Corporation in collaboration with the Green Finance Institute, and supported by the World Economic Forum, has announcing a summit in November that will focus on the role of green finance in the recovery from COVID-19. With a keynote address from Mark Carney, the event will showcase how green finance is fundamental to the post-COVID recovery, as well as a successful climate change conference next year. It will also explore how capital can be mobilised at the pace and scale needed to meet not only the UK’s path to net-zero emissions by 2050 but also international climate commitments.

UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Ueli Maurer, the Head of Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance, have this week announced a commitment by the two countries to develop an international agreement on financial services. Reacting to the announcement, Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation said:

“Switzerland and the UK are natural partners and world leaders when it comes to financial services exports, so it is vital that we deepen our relationship in the years to come. I therefore warmly welcome the commitment made by the Treasury and the Swiss Federal Department of Finance today, setting out a pathway towards an unprecedented level of mutual cooperation for financial services trade between our two countries.”

Property Week reports the City of London has put The Mark Lane Estate on the market with an asking price of £103m, reflecting a net initial yield of 4.81%. The twin assets are located at 47 and 50 Mark Lane and comprise 132,440 sq ft of office, retail and ancillary accommodation. Both buildings are six-storeys tall with 47 Mark Lane comprising 105,299 sq ft of space and 50 Mark Lane arranged as 23,141 sq ft of office space. The buildings are at 85% capacity, multi-let to 22 tenants. The pair of buildings are being marketed with redevelopment opportunities for potential buyers.

Development Finance Today reports that Investec Structured Property Finance has agreed to provide Scape with a £17.5m senior loan to fund the acquisition and development of its Thanet Street scheme in Bloomsbury, London. The global PBSA provider will use the funds for the full refurbishment of the existing property to deliver 60 self-contained studio units. The development is centrally located in Bloomsbury and will be within walking distance of the University of London, Birkbeck University and SOAS.

The Guardian reports that property developers connected to major construction projects approved by Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London have donated almost £1m to the Conservative party over the past year. Analysis of public records shows a significant cash injection from property tycoons linked to developments, including blocks of luxury flats with no affordable housing, which were signed off by Johnson and his deputy, Sir Edward Lister, who oversaw planning. Richard Desmond, the former owner of the Daily Express, is among the donors, along with the billionaire Reuben family and the Mayfair-based property firm Delancey owned by Eton-educated Jamie Ritblat.

City of Westminster

Westminster City Council has published updated plans that take in to account all the feedback received following a public consultation regarding opening up the hospitality sector. Some schemes have been added and others removed in response to the direct feedback received. Read the full update here.

Property Week reports that MPs, peers and other interested parties have been asked to contribute to a review of the restoration of the Houses of Parliament by 7 August 2020. The Houses of Parliament Restoration and Renewal Sponsor Body – led by Sarah Johnson, sponsor body chief executive and David Goldstone, delivery authority chief executive – is leading the review. The team will assess whether a recommendation that all MPs and Lords should leave the Palace of Westminster while the work is carried out is still the best option. According to the National Audit Office, Parliament has spent more than £369m on maintenance since 2016 and there is an increasing backlog of repairs estimated at over £1bn.

Architects Journal reports that 5th Studio has drawn up a series of proposals to roll out social distancing on busy retail and leisure streets throughout the City of Westminster in central London. The practice won a competitive City of Westminster Council tender to draw up public realm visions for Paddington, Edgware Road and Maida Vale, but the job was extended earlier this year to include a post-pandemic redesign of other key streets across the borough. Proposals for areas including Soho, Covent Garden, Marylebone and Mayfair include new options for outdoor dining, enlarging pavements areas and introducing the timed closure of certain roads to allow dining on former carriageways.

Development Finance Today reports that Shiva Hotels Group has secured £230m worth of development finance from Cale Street Investments and Crosstree Real Estate Partners to build a luxury hotel in Marylebone, London. The two real estate investment firms are providing the funding to the UK-based hotel owner and manager to support the construction of a 199-key ‘luxury lifestyle hotel’ through to completion. The Marylebone Lane Hotel is one of the latest luxury lifestyle hotels being pioneered by the group, with first guests set to be welcomed in early 2023.

Hackney

Property Week reports that a mixed-use scheme that will deliver 143 build-to-rent homes in Hackney Wick, north London has been green-lit at a recent planning committee meeting. Hatton Garden Properties, which submitted the plans, was given approval by the London Legacy Development Corporation virtual planning committee last week. In addition to the 143 BTR apartments, Hatton Garden will also create a permanent site for the Yard Theatre, retail units and 31,000 sq ft of flexible workspace.

The Hackney Gazette reports that a development blueprint for the whole of Hackney, the Local Plan, has received a green light from the government, with modifications. It is a planning document which sets out to direct and guide construction work in the borough until 2033. Sites earmarked for development include the Woodberry Down Estate, Clapton Bus Garage, Morning Lane and the former Rose Lipman library. In the next five years, there are planned to be 500 new homes in Hackney Central, 730 in Manor House and at least 100 in Shoreditch and Hoxton. Over the 15-year period, the document details 8,245 new properties in the borough.

The Hackney Citizen reports that Hackney Council is to review its procedures around planning decisions following a recent High Court judgment which found that the freedom of expression of a member of the public had been “impeded”. Mr Justice Dove was ruling on the future of Holborn Studios, which was saved from demolition in June after the Town Hall’s decision to allow Galliard Homes to re-develop it was found to be unlawful. Part of the judgment found that Holborn’s case had not been materially prejudiced through unfairness as its legal team had been able to present its objections at a committee meeting. However, it highlighted the practice of councillors passing objections from members of the public directly to council officers without reading them as an obstacle to the right to free expression under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kensington and Chelsea

Architects Journal reports that Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners have submitted plans for the long-awaited overhaul of South Kensington Tube stop. The double Stirling Prize-winning practice handed in its formal application for the high-profile scheme to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Backed by Transport for London and developer Native Land, the 12,000m² proposals would see a four-storey retail and workspace block dubbed The Bullnose added to the front of the station. The existing Grade II-listed Tube station would be restored, and 50 homes would be built on surrounding land, 35 per cent of which would be classed as affordable.

Lambeth

Architects Journal reports that NBBJ has won a competition for the interior of a major new extension to the Evelina Children’s Hospital in central London. The global firm was chosen ahead of an undisclosed shortlist of rival teams to take on the fit-out contract, which was announced by Guys and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in November last year. Alongside carrying out RIBA Stages 3-7 for the extension fit-out, the multidisciplinary team will design and deliver a £20 million revamp of the 2005 hospital’s basement-to-second floor and third-floor atrium, which will be connected to the new wing.

Brixton Buzz reports that a newly issued report reveals that Lambeth have spent more than £1.5 million keeping Olive Morris empty for the last two years. The costs are predominantly made up of security costs and business rates. The New Town Hall vanity project was sold to the public as saving £4.5 million a year.  Planning permission for Olive Morris House was granted over five years ago. Since then negotiations with the developer Muse have been on-going about the redevelopment.  It appears that negotiations are proceeding but are still not finalised on the cost of the new development, which will consist of predominantly private housing. The projected cost of the scheme is £35.2 million.

Southwark

Architects Journal reports that Southwark Council has rejected an application for a 20-storey tower by Kohn Pedersen Fox due to its ‘excessive height, scale and massing’. The tower was planned for a 0.3ha site in St Thomas Street, down the road from The Shard, which has already been cleared and is currently being used for temporary shop units and food and drink stalls. KPF’s tower would have provided office and shop space, as well as public realm. The scheme also included a three-storey pavilion, which would have contained a 200-person music venue.

Business Traveller reports that Premier Inn is set to open a new-build property in London’s Southwark district this autumn. The 274-room hotel will be Whitbread’s largest London opening for this current financial year, and will feature the group’s Bar and Block steakhouse restaurant concept. It will join existing Premier Inn properties in the area, including the Premier Inn London Southwark (Borough High St) and the Premier Inn London Southwark (Bankside). The hotel will form part of the New Marlborough Yard development.

Tower Hamlets

Architects Journal reports that Morris+Company is to take on the redevelopment of the Huntingdon industrial estate site opposite Shoreditch High Street station. The new nine-storey £56 million proposal by Morris+Company is being backed by Blue Coast Capital, a property investment company chaired by River Island boss Clive Lewis. The 29,268m² office-led project in Bethnal Green Road, which has now been submitted to Tower Hamlets Council. A planning decision on the project is expected before the end of the year.

Wandsworth

Property Week reports that Workspace has been granted planning consent for its mixed-use redevelopment in Wandsworth, south London. The 5.4-acre site in Riverside and Garratt Lane comprises 145,000 sq ft of office, leisure and light industrial space. The planning consent is for a new 106,000 sq ft business centre and 65,000 sq ft of new light industrial space, and 402 residential apartments which include 35% affordable housing. Rent roll for the current development is £2.5m and has a value of £46m as of 31 March this year.

General

The BBC reports that Boris Johnson has unveiled government plans to soften the economic impact of coronavirus with a promise to “build build build”. Speaking in the West Midlands, the prime minister will say he wants to use the coronavirus crisis “to tackle this country’s great unresolved challenges”. As part of a “new deal”, Mr Johnson is setting out plans to accelerate £5bn on infrastructure projects.

Property Week reports  Tony Pidgley died last week at the age of 72. Renowned for his relentless work ethic and keen eye for detail, Pidgley made his fortune through taking on difficult sites and correctly calling a series of peaks and troughs in the UK housing market, buying land when others were overly cautious and selling it when others were overly confident.