Camden

The Architects’ Journal reports that Grimshaw’s London Euston HS2 station could be shortened to seven platforms, a leaked document suggests. An internal HS2 document seen by the Sunday Telegraph reportedly considers cutting three platforms from the Euston station, leaving it with seven. It is one of five options for the future high-speed railway seen by the newspaper and which HS2 and the government are currently looking into. Another cites cutting back on the above-station development element.

City of London

Property Week reports that a private Vietnamese-based investor has completed the largest City of London office investment of the year on its UK debut, acquiring Lion Plaza on Old Broad Street for “in excess of £200m”. Standard Chartered Private Bank provided the financing for Lion Plaza Propco Limited’s acquisition of the property from German fund manager Doric Asset Finance.

EG reports that Arax Properties, in partnership with Eurazeo, have signed Speedo parent company Pentland Brands and Lacoste footwear, to take a combined 40,807 sq ft at the Johnson Building in Cross Street, Farringdon, EC1. The Johnson Building totals 192,700 sqft and was purchased by Eurazeo from Derwent London.

City of Westminster

The Architects’ Journal reports that Developer FORE Partnership is salvaging 100 tonnes of 1930s steel from the former House of Fraser on London’s Oxford Street to re-use in a Stiff + Trevillion office retrofit by Tower Bridge. The developer is removing the steel beams from the former department store, in what it believes is the ‘first time’ pre-Second World War steel will be used in a UK construction project.

Hackney

EG News reports that Hackney Council’s Planning Committee has approved developer Brokton Everlast’s plans to redevelop Telephone House in Shoreditch. The proposals, designed by architects Piercy & Company, will see the existing building demolished and replaced with an up to 10-storey building providing upgraded office space, ground floor retail space and basement events space.

Islington

Islington Council has introduced new measures to prevent commercial properties on the  borough’s high streets being converted into homes. In April 2021, the Government amended Permitted Development Rights to allow a change of use from Class E business, commercial and service use to residential (Class C3) without the need for planning permission. To protect local businesses, Islington Council has approved restrictions to permitted development for parts of Kings Cross and Angel that fall inside London’s Central Activities Zone, alongside Vale Royal and Brewery Road, Camden Passage and Fonthill Road. The directions are due to come into force on August 31^st.

Kensington & Chelsea

The Architects’ Journal reports that the costs of the 2017 Grenfell disaster have reached nearly £1.2 billion, as survivors and bereaved families await publication of two final reports into the tragedy. Overall spending on the response to the fire, which killed 72 residents of a North Kensington tower block clad in a flammable material, now totals £1.17 billion, The Guardian reported on Sunday (30 July).

Southwark

The Architects’ Journal reports that Shaw Corporation and its development partner Regal London have submitted plans for four residential towers ranging between 16-33 storeys on Old Kent Road. If approved the plans, designed by JTP architects, would deliver 1,141 new homes comprising 941 student flats and 200 new homes, with all new homes qualifying as affordable. The 7,000 sqm site opposite the proposed Bakerloo Line extension station is currently occupied by a petrol station and a derelict industrial warehouse.

Tower Hamlets

Property Week reports that long-contested plans to convert an historic east London brewery into an office-led mixed-use development are finally set to move forward after an appeal court judge ruled in favour of the scheme. Plans to convert the Old Truman Brewery into a five-storey, 61,355 sq ft office building with first-floor retail units, a 5,920 sq ft restaurant and a 12,915 sq ft basement gym were originally approved by Tower Hamlets development committee in September 2021. Truman Brewery, which will continue to manage the development site and says the plans will retain the iconic Truman Brewery bridge over Brick Lane, said it welcomed the opportunity to progress.

Property Week reports that Investment firms Cain International and Starwood Capital Group have agreed to provide a £535m loan to the Canary Wharf Group to support the development of its Wood Wharf residential scheme in London. The loan, provided equally from both investment firms, will be used to fund the next two phases of the Wood Wharf project. It is currently in the third phase of development, which comprises plans to deliver a 1,308-home private build-to-rent (BTR) scheme.

The Telegraph reports that Canary Wharf is at its emptiest since 2005, according to new analysis, compounding fears over the future of the financial district as big names continue to abandon their offices. Vacancy rates at Canary Wharf hit 14.8pc in the second quarter of this year, a level last seen 18 years ago, according to data from the property information provider CoStar.

General

Property Week reports that Taylor Wimpey has reported a 42.7% decrease in its profit before tax for the first half of 2023 as it said “variable market conditions including substantially higher mortgage rates” had an impact on results.The housing giant’s profits were £237.7m compared with last year’s H1 figure of £414.5m.Completed homes for the period totalled 5,120, compared with 6,922 in H1 2022. The housing giant said that the planning backdrop remained “extremely challenging and is likely to impact industry delivery of new homes”.

Property Week reports that the Housing Ombudsman has ordered housing association L&Q to pay £141,860 in compensation after publishing a damming report into its misconduct. The Ombudsman released a special investigation report into the housing association on 27 July, after finding the landlord “consistently failed” to resolve vital issues.The report made up to 103 determinations involving L&Q in the months from January to June 2023, spanning across 30 local authority areas. This includes 24 cases where the investigation found severe maladministration on at least one of the issues raised by the resident.

Property Week reports that experts from across the planning, property and construction sectors have slammed an increase in planning fees after it emerged the funding raised will not be ringfenced, dubbing it a “kick in the teeth” for developers.In March, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) launched a consultation on proposals to increase planning fees by as much as 35% for major planning developments. The additional cash generated from the fees would be kept by councils, with DLUHC saying the funds would help address undercapacity in local planning departments.But the government’s latest announcement revealed it would not be ringfencing the money, stating ringfencing would “impose a restriction on local authorities”, adding these authorities were “best placed to make decisions about funding local services”. This is despite 88% of respondents to the consultation supporting the ringfencing proposal.