After being left vacant for three years, London’s former City Hall is set to receive a makeover before being repurposed into a space for cafes, shops, restaurants and offices.
On December 10, the Southwark Council planning committee approved the proposal, after the landlord announced plans for the redesign in 2023. Planning officers for the council say the project will create 145 new jobs and would also “modernise the building” and “bring it back into use”.
The original building was built by Mace Group for £43m and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002. The Greater London Authority (GLA) leased the building until for nearly two decades from St Martins Property, a company representing the Kuwait government’s real estate interests. A 2020 report revealed that the building was costing the GLA £11.1m annually, and in 2021 Mayor Sadiq Khan made the decision to relocate to The Crystal, a GLA-owned building in Newham. Khan said that the move would save £55m over the course of five years.
Most present for the planning committee seemed happy with the plans; Liberal Democrat councillor Emily Tester said: “It’s such a shame that it’s been empty for so long,” adding “I’m looking forward to seeing this brought back into use again.”
However, Historic England were less pleased, pointing out that the project could cause “some harm, of a low level, to the significance of Tower Bridge,” and that the extension of the building would “encroach” on the pedestrian view of the bridge. Earlier this year, In April 2024, Historic England refused plans to partly demolish and refurbish the building, as proposed by architecture firm Gensler on behalf of St Martins Property. This was the second time such a proposal was put forward and denied.
Nicknamed the ‘glass testicle’ by former mayor Ken Livingstone, and later the ‘glass gonad’ by Boris Johnson, the current building has an unusual bulbous shape. Charlie Prentis, senior asset manager at St Martins, acknowledged that a lack of space at ground level makes the building seem “austere and unwelcoming,” but he maintained that it’s a “great building”. Prentis explained that after the GLA left the building in 2022, the company started looking for a new occupier “as quickly as possible… [but] a review demonstrated it required more significant updates to become re-lettable.”
The plans reveal that the building’s exterior glass shell will be removed and balconies will be created, along with the addition of trees and other greenery. Prentis said: “External alterations were necessary to create a sustainable building for the future.”
The sunken area next to the building, known as The Scoop, will also see development. The area, which includes a below-ground retail space, is facing refurbishment and the addition of a lift, plus the demolition of an onsite garage.
The scheme, set to be carried out by San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler, is set to add 3,800 square metres of floor space to the current building, a number which includes 452 square metres of office space and 3,300 square metres of retail space.
The decision to accept the proposal was almost unanimous, and planning officers concluded by saying: “What is being proposed would help to occupy, as well as modernise, the building and surrounding area, and bring it back into use”.
