Planning and pre-lets in the City
British Land professed itself “delighted” at yesterday’s decision by the Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to reject proposals to list the Broadgate offices complex in the City of London. British Land and Blackstone want to demolish part of Broadgate’s buildings order to build a new headquarters for UBS, but English Heritage had recommended that Broadgate be listed at Grade II* as one of the most important and successful developments of its period and type.
Chris Grigg, the chief executive of British Land, said the decision by the Government had sent out a message to the world “that the UK is ‘open for business’”. The new 700,000 sq ft (66,890 sq m) building at 5 Broadgate would include four trading floors capable of accommodating around 750 traders per floor and would enable UBS to locate its entire trading operation within one building, the company noted, adding that the new building would meet the highest sustainability standards in terms of energy performance.
The City of London Corporation also welcomed the decision not to list Broadgate, saying that a listing would have affected the international competitiveness of the City. “The City is – and always has been – first and foremost a place of business and it must be allowed to adapt to meet the long-term business needs of current and potential future occupiers,” it noted.
Meanwhile the Telegraph reports today that the City of London Corporation’s planning officer Peter Rees has spoken out this morning against government proposals to relax planning rules regarding the conversion of office space into residential property. The paper reports that, speaking at the British Property Federation’s breakfast seminar on the subject, Mr. Rees warned that the policy could limit available office space not only in the City but also in other business districts across the UK.
The paper notes that residential schemes in the City are already increasing, among them Hammerson’s Principal Place development, which includes residential units. Property Week reports today that law firm CMS Cameron McKenna has signed a heads of terms agreement to take a pre-let on up to 200,000 sq ft of the office space at Principal Place, in a deal that will enable Hammerson to go ahead with construction on the scheme at the northern end of Bishopsgate.
