Lambeth council has served an enforcement notice on 92 Albert Embankment, SE1, amid allegations that it was converted into flats without consent.
The freehold of the 70,000 sq ft disused office building, Tintagel House, is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall but it has been leased out since 1959. Reports suggest that Galaplace Limited is the long leaseholder.
The enforcement notice will take effect on 24 March unless an appeal is lodged. The council has given occupiers nine months to leave Tintagel House.
Tintagel House was once occupied by the Metropolitan Police but its lease expired in December 2011. It has been occupied by live-in property guardians for more than a year.
Planners at Lambeth council have warned that the building has been turned into 11 flats without any consideration of affordable housing, transport and other policies.
It comes after the government relaxed rules for the conversion of office buildings into residential last year. However, Tintagel House sits within one of the areas exempt from the new permitted developments rights.
A council spokesman said: “We have acted in response to what appears to be a breach of planning control. The building’s use has changed from offices to 11 self-contained flats – so everyone with an interest in the site has been served with a copy of the notice.
“Using this building as flats is contrary to the London Plan and several Lambeth council planning policies. Tintagel House is in the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea Opportunity Area and the Central Activities Zone and so is potentially an important employment generating site.”
A spokesman for the Duchy of Cornwall added: “Lambeth’s enforcement action is against the long leaseholder of the building and is not against the Duchy of Cornwall.
“Lambeth is bound to inform the Duchy as the ultimate freeholder when taking action. The notice served on the Duchy is a courtesy and for information only. The long lease lasts until 2083.”
Annabel.Dixon@estatesgazette.com
