Gove halts Co-Re and Mitsubishi’s ITV Studios scheme
Michael Gove has cast doubt on plans to turn ITV’s former London studios into a 1m sq ft office, retail and arts and culture development, after issuing an article 31 notice for the scheme.
The project on the South Bank, owned by Mitsubishi Estate and co-developed by Co-Re, was set to involve bulldozing the studios in favour of a 25-storey office building connected to two blocks of six and 14 storeys.
Developers already have consent for the redevelopment from local authorities, but the levelling up secretary’s intervention prevents demolition from starting on site while ministers decide whether to give it the go-ahead.
Michael Gove has cast doubt on plans to turn ITV’s former London studios into a 1m sq ft office, retail and arts and culture development, after issuing an article 31 notice for the scheme.
The project on the South Bank, owned by Mitsubishi Estate and co-developed by Co-Re, was set to involve bulldozing the studios in favour of a 25-storey office building connected to two blocks of six and 14 storeys.
Developers already have consent for the redevelopment from local authorities, but the levelling up secretary’s intervention prevents demolition from starting on site while ministers decide whether to give it the go-ahead.
The scheme at 72 Upper Ground, SE1 was set to include 900,000 sq ft of office space, as well as cultural venues, two public squares and restaurant and retail spaces. ITV sold the site to Mitsubishi Estate in November 2019 with an existing planning permission to redevelop it.
Lambeth Council planners then gave the updated proposals their consent in March, despite the scheme being described as “controversial and extremely unpopular” in their own planning report.
A spokesperson for the developers today (11 May) said it would be “a great addition to the South Bank”.
“Crucially, it will benefit the whole community through affordable workspace that is tailored to the needs of Lambeth’s emerging creative industries as well as cultural venues, new cafés and restaurants and open, green spaces,” the spokesperson said.
Co-Re’s scheme is the second that Gove has stopped work on in recent weeks, after he issued an article 31 notice on Marks & Spencer’s controversial department store redevelopment on Oxford Street last month.
The 650,000 sq ft redevelopment of the art deco-fronted store has divided opinion, due to its environmental impact. Critics say developers should carry out a retrofit rather than redeveloping it, to cut the project’s embodied carbon. Despite this, both Westminster City Council and the Greater London Authority have given it the go-ahead.
An article 31 notice is a direction sent to the local council, which suspends any final decision on a scheme until ministers have had the chance to review the application. As with the M&S scheme, 72 Upper Ground is expected to be reviewed by the Greater London Authority before Gove runs the rule over it.
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