Camden

In Camden, plans for an 11-storey residential redevelopment at Tottenham Street have been approved despite objections from neighbouring office occupiers on daylight/sunlight and overlooking grounds. Camden Planning Committee upheld officers’ recommendation that overlooking was not a valid consideration for office properties, and approved the plans which had previously been approved by members in August 2022.

City of London

The City of London Corporation has agreed to adopt a ground-breaking new initiative, that will require developers to submit detailed plans to minimise light pollution, at the early stages of their planning applications. The ‘Lighting SPD’ will provide guidance for developers on lighting buildings and the spaces between them, covering the design, delivery, operation, and maintenance of artificial light within the City of London. Over time, as new developments come forward that follow this guidance, the approach to lighting in the City will be transformed, making it a greener, safer and more attractive place to be for all its communities after dark.

Construction Enquirer reports that Developer Martin’s Property Investments has appointed  Galliford Try to carry out the £72m remodelling and refurbishment of Adelaide House in central London. The works consist of the remodelling of the nine-storey, Grade II-listed building, adjacent to London Bridge to a Category A office standard. Originally completed in 1924 on the site of the original London Bridge, Adelaide House was London’s first steel frame building, and at the time of construction was the tallest office building in the City.

EG Radius reports that Schroders Capital Real Estate’s plans to develop a 63-storey office tower at 55 Bishopsgate have been recommended for approval by City of London planners. The investor, working with development partner Stanhope, submitted plans for two adjoining towers totalling 103,000 sqm of commercial floorspace, of which 80,000 sqm will be commercial floorspace. With a height of 269m, the building will be nearly as tall as the 278m 22 Bishopsgate tower over the road but shorter than Eric Parry’s 1 Undershaft which is undergoing a significant redesign.

City of Westminster

The Telegraph reports that Michael Gove has rejected proposals by Marks & Spencer to bulldoze and rebuild its flagship Marble Arch store on Oxford Street. The Housing Secretary on Thursday blocked Marks & Spencer from demolishing its landmark store, objecting on the ground that the project could harm the character of the area. M&S had planned to demolish the Art Deco building and replace it with a new 10-storey retail and office block with only two and half floors used for retail space.

Property Week reports that Plans have been unveiled for a £90m rejuvenation of Oxford Street to give the world-famous London retail destination a “much-needed facelift” .The Oxford Street Programme, put forward by Westminster City Council (WCC) and the New West End Company (NWEC), which represents 600 West End property owners, retail, restaurant and hotel businesses, includes measures to improve the appearance and usability of the 1.8km stretch of street from Marble Arch to Tottenham Court Road, increasing space and safety for people on foot.

EG Radius reports thatGreat Portland Estates has secured an option from the Crown Estate to allow it to redevelop French Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street. The redevelopment at the heart of the historic St James’s district forms part of The Crown Estate’s strategy to regenerate the wider area, attracting new brands, businesses and visitors to a globally renowned destination. GPE’s current interests at French Railways House and 50 Jermyn Street are held on leases expiring in 2053 and 2057 at a combined fixed rent of £13,250 per annum. The new head lease across both buildings will be for a term of 129 years and geared to 10% of rents received.

Hackney

The Hackney Citizen reports that Hackney Council is on the hunt for a new chief executive – just two years after Mark Carroll took the job.Carroll, who has been on extended leave since April to handle family matters, is to step down at the end of August after reaching a “mutual agreement” with Mayor Philip Glanville.The executive, who was previously the public health boss at Essex County Council, said: “Hackney is an extraordinary council and place, and I have been so proud to be its chief executive.”

Islington

The Architects’ Journal reports that objectors have spoken out against Lion Group’s plans to redevelop two linked office blocks at Paul Street and Epworth Street in Islington, which architects Morris + Company proposes to demolish and replace with a taller buildings. The proposals would see a new 7-storey block with a two storey basement in place of the existing blocks,but local objectors have hit out at the plans on grounds of sustainability, size and noise pollution.

Lambeth

The Architects’ Journal reports that Adjaye Associates’ contested plans for an office tower in Brixton have been withdrawn by the developer just days before a key hearing on the scheme was due to take place. Lambeth Council narrowly approved the 20-storey Hondo Tower scheme in November 2020 but it was subsequently called in by London mayor Sadiq Khan in a reversal of an earlier decision not to intervene. The scheme was set to go before the GLA later this week, but the hearing has now been cancelled after the applicant sent a letter explaining it wants to pull the scheme and ‘reconsider its position’.

Southwark

In Southwark, Peckham library is to reopen following a £1.5 million refurbishment to upgrade the existing facilities and enhance the building’s energy performance. The programme of works included green upgrades to retrofit the building with low-carbon, energy-efficient technologies including heat pumps. These improvements will help to save energy costs for the council whilst also reducing carbon emissions to help towards the council’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030

Property Week reports that Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has signed a pre-development hotel management agreement with Sampson House (SHL) for a new luxury hotel and branded residences at Bankside Yards on London’s South Bank.The Mandarin Oriental Bankside will occupy a stand-alone, 33-storey building  between the Tate Modern art gallery and the Southbank Centre, as part of the wider Bankside Yards masterplan.

Tower Hamlets

EG Radius reports that Canary Wharf Group and Kadans Science Partner have been given the go-ahead for the development of a health and life sciences building at the North Quay site in Canary Wharf, E14. The 23-storey tower is set to become London’s tallest lab building, and marks a key step in the Canary Wharf Group’s project to “redraw the life sciences map of London.”

Wandsworth

The Evening Standard reports that Wandsworth has emerged as London’s latest rental hotspot, with two reports this week highlighting how rapidly prices in the area are rising. Figures from Savills showed the estate agent’s Wandsworth office recorded the capital’s sharpest price increases for tenants in the second quarter of this year.Wandsworth Town saw the sharpest rise of all, with rents up 6.6 per cent in just three months.

General

Property Week reports that just 8.3% of UK office space will satisfy new environmental standards set to be enforced from 2030, according to a report from Carter Jonas. The report also shows that only 11% of floorspace across 12 UK cities built since 2010 would currently meet new minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) regulations that come into force in seven years’ time.MEES regulations from 1 April made it unlawful to let a property with an EPC rating below ’E’ and the government intends to raise the minimum to ‘C’ by 2030.

Property Week reports that housing association Peabody has confirmed it invested up to £550m towards new homes in 2022-23, despite downsizing its pipeline to focus on improving its existing stock. Peabody executive director of development Philip Jenkins confirmed that the £550m was invested into Peabody’s new-homes programme, which saw the completion of 2,399 homes. The investment was also used to fund around 2,376 new-home construction starts.

Property Week reports that official figures published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show the number of planning decisions made by councils has dropped by two thirds in less than 10 years. In the latest update of the live tables on planning application statistics, DLUHC revealed that the number of major planning applications that councils had made decisions on within the 13-week time period they were required to fell from 57% in 2013-14 to 19% in 2022-23.