City of London

The Evening Standard reports that ten new skyscrapers are being planned for the City of London, signifying strong investor confidence in the capital’s financial centre. The City of London Corporation is said to be in pre-application discussions with developers behind eight of the tower blocks, with chairman of the city’s planning committee Shravan Joshi telling the Standard that all the proposals are “substantial buildings that will change the skyline of the City”. The applications that have been made public are a 32-storey tower at 85 Gracechurch Street by Leadenhall Market brought forward by developer Hershten Properties and a 63- storey development at 55 Bishopsgate funded by Schroders with Stanhope acting as development managers.

The BBC reports that a solar farm has been commissioned by the City of London Corporation to provide sustainable power for a number of buildings in the Squire Mile.  Solar company Voltalia said that the South Farm solar plant in Dorset will provide power for Guildhall, the Barbican Arts Centre and three wholesale markets in the area as part of a 15-year contract with the corporation. Voltalia added that the deal was “the first of its kind in the UK to be signed directly between a renewables producer and a public governing authority”. Keith Bottomley, Chairman of the City Corporation’s environment committee, said the deal will help the company “transition quickly away from fossil fuels”. Writing in City A.M on Tuesday, City of London Mayor Nicholas Lyons reaffirmed the Corporation’s commitment to achieving net zero by 2027 and promoting net zero for the entirety of the City by 2040.

City of Westminster

The Architect’s Journal reports that developer Northacre has completed its 93,000 sqm mixed-use development The Broadway in Westminster. The six buildings at the 1.72 acre site on 8-10 Broadway range from 14 to 19 storeys and provide 268 residential units alongside three floors of office accommodation and retail and restaurant space at ground level. The development, designed by Squire & Partners, has also created Orchard Place, a new public space  which links Victoria Street with Broadway and Dacre Street.

The Times reports that designer and TV Presenter Kevin McCloud has called for the M&S building on Oxford Street to be afforded Grade III listed status as the company proposes to rebuild the store. The Grand Designs presenter cited the store in a call to introduce Grade III listing, a measure intended to make retrofitting the norm to save historical structures and reduce carbon emissions. McCloud called M&S’s plans to demolish and rebuild its Oxford Street store an example of a “lazy… wasteful” and “not green” culture of “demolishing, removing and throwing away”. Proponents of Grade III listing argue that the status should be automatically applied to every building so properties can only be demolished if they are structurally unsafe or given special dispensation by the local planning authority. Debate about the fate of the 20^th century structure has raged since M&S announced their plans. The results of a November 2022 inquiry into the future of the building are expected this year.

Hammersmith & Fulham

Property Week reports that Chelsea Football Club have submitted a £50 million offer for a plot of land next to Stamford Bridge, suggesting that plans to redevelop the stadium are underway again. The club has long sought to carry out an ambitious £1 billion revamp of their home stadium, having secured planning permission in 2017 but failed to begin construction within the consented period. The offer on the 1.2 acre plot owned by housing association Stoll is seen as an important first step in reigniting the scheme after new owner Todd Boehly reaffirmed his commitment to redeveloping Stamford Bridge last month.

Lambeth

Brixton Buzz reports that Homes for Lambeth (HFL) has requested an additional £3 million of funding from Lambeth Council to complete its housing development at Hydethorpe Road SW12. The move comes after the Kerslake Review into the delivery of affordable housing in the borough criticised the “overarching direction” of the council’s private development arm, suggesting it be disbanded and brought in house. HFL previously borrowed £3.5 million of public funds for the same project in April 2021 and is now seeking the additional loan to accommodate “changes in project cashflow” in order to finish the 14 home scheme.

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

The Architect’s Journal reports that Kensington and Chelsea councillors have granted approval for a £120 million revamp of the Grade II-listed Barkers of Kensington building on Kensington High Street. The interior of the 52,889 sqm former department store is now set to be converted into contemporary office and retail space as it undergoes a “deep retrofit” by Emrys Architects.  The proposals also include an expansion of total floorspace to 53,849 sqm. Construction on the west London landmark is set to begin in 2023 with expected completion in 2025.

Southwark

Building Design reports that Southwark Council has approved plans for a height boost that would add 60 homes to early-stage plots on the Aylesbury Estate regeneration development. Outline plans for the 17-storey redevelopment were approved in 2015, and the latest permission will see an additional 3 storeys alongside an additional flat on each floor. The scheme is designed by architects HTA Design and Hawkins Brown for housing association Notting Hill Genesis.

Southwark News reports that councillors have approved plans to build 153 flats on St James’ Road just off Old Kent Road. The proposal comprises three buildings ranging from 7 to 19 storeys, with 1,900 sqm of floorspace for commercial and light industrial uses. 35% of the homes will be affordable, with 25% at social rent and 10% let at 80% market rate. The current site is a parking area with two storage buildings which are set to be demolished, although the Roca building which houses artists studios and workshop space will be retained and refurbished.

Tower Hamlets

EG reports that planning officials at Tower Hamlets Council have recommended councillors approve planning permission for a 290,625 sqft data centre in Poplar. The proposals from data operator Global Switch would see a 56.8m high building on land adjacent to East India Dock House with a connecting bridge to the existing Global Switch campus at 3 Nutmeg Lane. Tower Hamlets Planning Committee is set to make a decision on the proposal next Tuesday.

The Times reports that Albert Reichmann, the property developer who built the first stages of Canary Wharf, has died aged 93. Reichmann’s firm Olympia & York were engaged by Margaret Thatcher to transform London’s Docklands in 1987 and completed 12 buildings which formed the foundation of the development, including One Canada Square – the 240m high 50-storey tower which was then Britain’s tallest building. Reichmann and his brothers were also instrumental in persuading HSBC to move their headquarters from the City to Canary Wharf in 1999. After building the initial stages of canary wharf, Olympia & York went on to build the World Financial Centre in New York and were at one point the largest commercial property owner in New York City.

General

The Times reports that Home REIT has announced a temporary suspension of trading on the London Stock Exchange after a delay in publishing its annual accounts following a damning short-seller report on its business model and practices. The investor, which specialises in buying and developing accommodation for the homeless in the UK, came under fire in November in a report by Viceroy Research which flagged concerns around the valuation of its properties, the ability of its tenants to pay rent and the sustainability of its business model. Home REIT denounced the report as “inaccurate and misleading” but was forced to suspend trading in its shares yesterday as it undergoes an “enhanced” audit.

Property Week reports that Knight Frank London have reported a record £855 million in sales of new homes for 2022. The property consultancy saw a 35.6% increase in sales from the previous year, which they say was driven by the end of Help-to-Buy and boomerang buyers returning to London post-Covid. Knight Frank’s 2022 launches included the Chelsea Botanica, The Powerhouse apartments at the Lots Road Power Station and Capella, the last residential building at Kings Cross. The firm has been instructed on developments set to launch this month, including Phase Two of the Television Centre, Hammersmith Town Hall, the final building at Southbank Place and Oxbow Phase 3.

Property Week reports that London office leasings in 2022 are up 24% from the previous year but are still lagging behind the long-term average. Knight Frank found that office leasing volumes in the capital reached 10.9 million sqft in 2022, an improvement from 2021 but still well short of the long-term average of 12.3 million. The consultancy also found that 60% of take up was for new or newly refurbished space with strong sustainability and wellbeing credentials. Philip Hobley, head of London offices at Knight Frank, said that the figures reflected a pivot to “new, higher-quality building capable of delivering more dynamic workspaces ahead of leases expiring” in response to ESG targets and a “constrained development pipeline”.

The Architect’s Journal reports that research by a tenant’s group has found that demolition is leading to a depletion in London’s social housing. The study conducted by the London Tenants Federation (LTF) found that London has lost 23,000 social-rented homes through demolition in the last 10 years, whilst just 12,050 new homes have been built. Ealing has the highest demolition rate with 5,000 social-rented homes demolished in the last decade, with Southwark and Hackney also ranking highly. TFR’s research, which used GLA data, also found that the backlog of demand for social-rented homes in the capital increased by over 100,000 from 61,000 to 163,000 in the last recorded period between 2013 and 2017.