Southwark council has warned the former owner of the Financial Times that the newspaper’s headquarters on the South Bank must be retained as offices rather than converted into housing.
Labour councillor Mark Williams, whose brief includes regeneration, told the Telegraph that any planning application for a change of use would need to “retain or increase“ the office element.
The FT was recently sold for £844m to Nikkei, but the HQ building at 1 Southwark Bridge, SE1, will remain in the hands of former owner Pearson.
Williams said: “There is huge demand for office space in Southwark, particularly in the north of the borough along the river.
“The FT is in a substantial office building in an area where our policy is to retain and expand office space and employment. Any application for this site would need to retain or increase this space in addition to any other uses.
“We did have had initial discussions along these lines with the FT a few years ago, but nothing was formalised and no planning application was submitted.”
Pearson has been based at the block since 1987.
