News

Camden Council has driven the development model in partnership with Ballymore and Lateral for a challenging site at Camley Street bounded by railway lines and bisected by a large road.

The Council is bringing the scheme forward through its Community Investment Programme, which it argues sets up a development model for other councils to use at challenging inner city sites.

The approved plans knit together two brownfield sites at Camley Street to deliver 401 homes alongside more than 350,000 sq ft of office and employment space.

Around 50% of the homes will be classed as genuinely affordable.

The scheme will be delivered across six buildings ranging from eight to 30 storeys.

Site A will be home to three interlinked mixed-use terracotta/red brick blocks of flats ranging from 8 to 13 storeys, with Camden acting as lead developer.

Site B includes a 30-storey residential tower, a 12-storey commercial building, and a standalone eight-storey mixed-use building combining homes above with commercial space at ground level.

On this site, Camden provides the land on a long leasehold to the joint venture. While Ballymore leads on the demolition of Site B, the Council will initially fund these works, which will be later reimbursed by the partners alongside the first land receipt payment.

Over 200 private sale homes built by Ballymore on this site will generate the capital receipts that the Council is reinvesting to fund the social housing on Site A and other CIP projects.

Landscape-led design underpins the proposals, with new walking and cycling routes, play space and public squares prioritising health, wellbeing and biodiversity.

A car-free approach strengthens connections to Regent’s Canal and safeguards future links to the proposed Camden Highline, reflecting a wider shift among councils nationally towards low-car, active-travel neighbourhoods.

Camden said the development would generate more than 1,000 job and training opportunities, including apprenticeships and school placements, creating pathways into life science, technology and digital roles for local people while maximising the wider economic impact of the scheme.

The first homes are expected to be ready for occupation by late 2030.

The project team across both sites includes architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios and Morris + Company, Hoare Lea on MEP, Aecom and Gardiner & Theobald as cost consultants.

The agreement paves the way for construction of an opening tranche of 195 rental flats, marking Grainger’s first BTR partnership with a major housebuilder.

The first phase has secured detailed planning consent and Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator, clearing the way for work to begin within weeks.

Detailed high-rise flats plan submitted for plot 3a

The wider Bollo Lane scheme is being brought forward by a partnership between Barratt Redrow and Transport for London. It will consist of a dozen blocks running along a ribbon site next to tube line tracks at Acton in West London.

The planned second phase will deliver around 450 homes with a third phase delivering around 250 homes.

Further land to the north in Acton, which could be incorporated into the partnership, could deliver a new facility for the London Transport Museum together with a further 800 homes.

As well as delivering new homes and public realm improvements, both TfL and Barratt Redrow will seek to deliver new educational and job opportunities for those considering a career in the construction industry, including for those who live locally, through apprenticeships and training programmes.

This morning housing secretary Steve Reed signed off the scheme for the 20,000 sq metre complex at Royal Mint Court, just east of the City of London and opposite the Tower of London.

The decision comes despite opposition from MPs across Parliament about security concerns and clears the way for what would become China’s largest diplomatic outpost in Europe.

Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit China later this month as ministers seek to reset economic and diplomatic ties. It would be the first visit by a British prime minister since 2018.

Reed said the approval was a “quasi-judicial” decision taken fairly and in line with planning policy. He added that it is now final unless successfully challenged in court.

China bought the Royal Mint Court site in 2018 for around £230m.

Plans for the embassy were delayed three times before approval was granted. The 240-page planning decision concludes the proposal complies with the development plan “when taken as a whole” and that planning permission and listed building consent should be granted.

The proposed super embassy would include offices, a large basement area, housing for 200 staff, and a new tunnel to connect embassy buildings

Ministers said intelligence agencies were involved throughout the process and that a package of protective security measures has been devised.

The £255m scheme was previously rejected by Tower Hamlets council in 2022 on safety and security grounds.

The proposed super-embassy includes offices, a substantial basement, accommodation for around 200 staff and a new tunnel linking key embassy buildings. Its location, close to sensitive fibre-optic infrastructure used by banks and major institutions, has fuelled ongoing concern.

The design by David Chipperfield Architects would repurpose the listed Johnson Smirke and Seamen’s Registry buildings, demolish others and introduce new residential and office blocks.

Internal layouts for two buildings — the Cultural Exchange Building and Embassy House — have been redacted from public documents, with parts of other blocks also blanked out.

Construction management advice is being provided by BCEGI UK, with Arcadis acting as project manager. Turner & Townsend is cost consultant, Arup is advising on structures and civils, Cundall on building services and Thornton Tomasetti on façades.

The Home Office has already pushed for a “hard perimeter” to prevent unregulated public access, a requirement that could still trigger a fresh planning application. A final government position is due next month, but ministerial scrutiny means security concerns — not just planning policy — could yet derail the scheme.

Designed by Howells, the plans also include a new primary school, more than 13,500 sq m of light industrial and flexible workspace, a new riverside park, and a range of ground-floor retail and community spaces.

John Mulryan, Group Managing Director, Ballymore, said: “Securing consent for Thames Road is a significant milestone and a strong endorsement of the ambition and care that has shaped these proposals.

“Our commitment to the Royal Docks spans decades, and this approval allows us to build on the success of Royal Wharf while continuing to respond thoughtfully to the area’s evolving character and needs.

“Royal Wharf has demonstrated what high-quality brownfield regeneration can achieve, becoming an international benchmark for new town delivery since its completion in 2020. With planning now in place for Thames Road, we are excited to move forward and prepare to begin construction next year.”

The City of London Corporation and GLA have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to relocate both historic wholesale markets at Albert Island next to City Airport in Newham.

The ambitious plans now hinge on Parliamentary approval to formally end trading at the current sites in 2028 and planning consent from Newham Council.

Talks will now start with potential delivery partners to detail how both markets will be incorporated on the Royal Docks site, including funding, viability, construction sequencing at Albert Island.

The relocation unlocks two of London’s most sought-after redevelopment opportunities.

Subject to the Bill passing, the grade II-listed halls of the Smithfield meat market site in central London will be turned into an international cultural and commercial hub alongside the London Museum.

Billingsgate’s Canary Wharf-side fish market site will also be transformed, delivering around 4,000 new homes and a new pedestrian and cycle bridge.

Alongside developing these two London sites, the City Corporation is also working with Barking & Dagenham on future plans for the 42-acre Barking Reach site, previously earmarked for the combined markets.

The riverside location is seen as a prime logistics base with access to international supply chains via the Thames Estuary Gateway. Further details will be shared as discussions with developers progress.

The proposed Albert Island site has permission for around 750,000 sq ft of development and a new boatyard.

New Billingsgate and New Smithfield will also feature a major food school, offering accredited training for butchers, fishmongers, fruiterers and apprentices.

City of London Corporation policy chairman Chris Hayward said: “We are investing in London’s future. Redeveloping the current market sites will contribute billions of pounds in economic growth, thousands of new jobs and thousands of new homes.”

City Hall’s intervention draws a line under one of Westminster’s most fiercely contested student housing disputes and finally clears the way for construction to start.

The £147m scheme on a Travis Perkins builders’ merchant site had been repeatedly blocked by councillors who claimed the twin-tower block would cause unacceptable light loss and harm nearby conservation areas.

Labour and Tory members united to brand the plans “excessive”, warning the 20-storey massing would create a canyon effect across Paddington Basin.

But deputy mayor Jules Pipe ruled the now extensively redesigned project met the London Plan “when read as a whole”, arguing the student beds, canal-side upgrades and economic benefits outweigh the acknowledged design impacts.

City Hall also highlighted London’s surging demand for student housing, with at least 3,500 new beds needed every year to avoid piling more pressure on mainstream homes.

The green light allows Unite to demolish the current depot at 149–157 Harrow Road and deliver two linked towers containing 605 rooms above a reprovided Travis Perkins operation at ground and mezzanine level.

The scheme also brings a new public path along the Grand Union Canal, mooring improvements, canal-side landscaping, a walkway beneath Bishops Bridge Road and a retained historic gable end.

Backed by Yoo Capital, the plans includes a studio campus boasting visual-effects, animation and post-production facilities. A pair of major film schools – the National Film and Television School and the London Screen Academy – will also open new education hubs as part of the scheme.

If planning is granted, around 1,370 construction jobs will be created over the three-year build.

Partner social housing developer Places for People has also submitted its own application to deliver 485 homes next to the new studios.

PfP group managing director of developments Andrew Usher said the Camden Film Quarter would be a landmark project and the next step in its placemaking work.

Yoo Capital co-founder Lloyd Lee added that the aim was to build “a neighbourhood where world-class studios, 50% affordable homes and public spaces sit side by side to inspire the next generation”.

Architect Broadway Malyan is leading design work for the residential sites, with a brief to create an ambitious new quarter that reflects local character and delivers real social value.

Turner & Townsend has been appointed by Camden Council as client representative for the regeneration. The firm will develop the council’s requirements for replacement facilities on the site and oversee project management, cost monitoring and design assurance.

The banking giant wants to build the £3bn project on a riverside site, and is reported to be hoping the build will exceed the Shard in height although Canary Wharf building heights are capped to allow for safe flight paths to London City Airport.

Designed by Foster + Partners, the tower mirrors the firm’s ambition at its global HQ at 270 Park Avenue in New York.

The new European headquarters will be built on Riverside South, which JP Morgan bought in 2008, but shelved plans following that year’s global financial crisis.

This site already has foundations and basement levels in place, which bankers argue would shorten the construction timetable should the project proceed.

Designs are being kept under wraps until they are finalised, including the height.

Construction would take around six years, with Canary Wharf Group acting as co-developer and Sir George Iacobescu advising the bank.

While the new tower comes forward, the bank will refurbish its existing 25 Bank Street base.

A study commissioned by JP MorganChase estimates the combined building and refurbishment programme could pump £9.9bn into the UK economy and support more than 7,800 jobs across construction and the wider supply chain.

The scheme has been welcomed by the Chancellor, who called it a multi-billion-pound vote of confidence in the government’s growth plans, and by the Mayor of London, who said the decision underlines the capital’s global financial clout.

The building will feature trading floors, roof terraces, wellness facilities, cafés, cycling infrastructure and upgraded public realm. It forms part of a wider push by the bank, which recently committed up to £350m to expand its Bournemouth campus.

Jamie Dimon, Chairman & CEO of JPMorganChase, said: “London has been a trading and financial hub for more than a thousand years, and maintaining it as a vibrant place for finance and business is critical to the health of the UK economy.

“This building will represent our lasting commitment to the city, the UK, our clients and our people. The UK government’s priority of economic growth has been a critical factor in helping us make this decision.”

JPMorgan is also set to roll out its Security & Resiliency Initiative in the UK, part of a global $1.5tn 10-year programme to support investment in defence, energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.

Once the new Riverside building is delivered, staff will be consolidated between the new HQ and 60 Victoria Embankment, with the bank set to review future options for 25 Bank Street.

Developers now await a planning decision from an upcoming meeting of councillors at the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea as the £10bn scheme straddles both London boroughs.

If both boroughs sign off, enabling works begin next year with first residents targeted for 2030 and full build-out running through to 2041.

Phase one will consist of up to 1,300 homes, public realm and the first cultural venue.

The wider scheme promises thousands of more homes, three cultural venues and 20 acres of parks and public realm.

The masterplan includes 2.5m sq ft of workspace aimed at climate-innovation firms and will run on a zero-carbon energy network.

ECDC chief executive Rob Heasman said the approval marked a major milestone after years of co-design with residents: “This is a long-underused, centrally located site with exceptional connectivity to deliver new homes, jobs and public space at scale. Earls Court will be a new district in West London.”

Once complete, research by Arup suggests the redevelopment will pump £3bn a year into the UK economy and support 23,500 jobs nationwide.