The City of London Corporation has granted approval for three separate planning applications to retrofit and upgrade existing office buildings across the city’s Square Mile to help the City meet its net zero goals.
The buildings at Basinghall Avenue, Lower Thames Street and 75 London Wall – also known as Winchester House – will receive an uplift in commercial and amenity space and be transformed into modern, fully sustainable buildings.
“Attention is always drawn towards the latest large new office developments in the City, but when it comes to retrofitting, the City is leading the way on both policy and delivery, accounting for around half of all major retrofit applications across Greater London,” said chair of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, Shravan Joshi.
“With the built environment sector accounting for around 40% of total carbon emissions, retrofitting is crucial for meeting our net zero goals. By working with stakeholders to deliver pragmatic policies that will help transition to net zero effectively, we aim to be the most attractive and sustainable global financial centre for generations to come.”
Through retention and reuse of the majority of existing structure and materials, it is expected that thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions will be saved, that would have otherwise been used if the sites had been fully demolished and redeveloped.
In keeping with the City of London Corporation’s Climate Action Strategy and net zero goals, the three sites will benefit from significant energy efficiency upgrades, such as LED lighting and heat pumps, along with sustainable landscaping features, such as rain gardens and wildflower green roofs, to improve biodiversity and mitigate the impact of flooding and heat waves. Each of the sites will also provide a significant uplift in cycle parking to encourage active travel.
They will make a significant contribution toward meeting the need for A-Grade office space, outlined in the City Corporation’s local plan (City Plan 2040), while also contributing to the ‘Destination City’ objective to drive more footfall into the Square Mile.
In addition to the retrofitting strategy, the City also recently approved a new office scheme – to be called Hill House – featuring cascading, stepped, green landscaped terraces.
Hill House aims to deliver a 500% biodiversity net gain for the area and there are plans to plant 28 new street trees and increase public realm space.
