Retrofit Projects Help Support London’s Net-Zero Goals

The buildings will benefit from significant energy efficiency upgrades, such as LED lighting and heat pumps, along with sustainable landscaping features

The City of London Corporation has granted approval for three separate planning applications to upgrade existing office buildings at key sites across the Square Mile, which will help the city meet its net-zero goals. The buildings at 1 Basinghall Avenue, 3 Lower Thames Street and 75 London Wall, will receive an uplift in commercial and amenity space and be transformed into modern, fully sustainable buildings.

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. 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.

Green Goals

• Three existing commercial buildings in London to receive an upgrade
• Majority of existing structure and materials to be reused to save thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions 
• Each site to also provide uplift in cycle parking to encourage active travel

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.

Riverside Destination

On top of the much-needed high quality and sustainable office space, the proposals for 3 Lower Thames Street, known as St Magnus House, will deliver a new riverside destination for local residents, workers and visitors, complete with urban greening, public art and play space, as well as seating to create a new riverside plaza.

A public lift to a fully accessible podium level will enable everyone to enjoy panoramic views across the Thames for the first time, in addition to new step free access between the Thames Path and the Grade I Listed St Magnus the Martyr Church. New food and beverage offerings at the ground floor and podium levels, will also be available.

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.

Shravan Joshi, Chair, City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee

At 1 Basinghall Avenue, the ground floor entrance lobby will be remodelled to enable space for a new café, or restaurant, whilst future employees will enjoy a new rooftop terrace, with extensive, biodiverse greening and cycle maintenance facilities at basement level. The proposals for 75 London Wall, also known as Winchester House, would see a large uplift in new office space, whilst retaining approximately 90% of the existing building. Visitors and workers alike will benefit from numerous and extensive landscaped terraces, improvements to access and travel through the site, as well as the introduction of new retail and cultural spaces at ground floor level, to create a more diverse and vibrant space for everyone to enjoy.

A new public passageway would also be created from London Wall through the building to Great Winchester Street, which would open up to a new area of public realm delivering a new destination and cultural space to the city. “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.

He further added, “It signals once more to investors that the Square Mile is open for sustainable business. 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. With these three retrofit applications, future office tenants and their employees will enjoy a well-connected, high-quality office space, whilst local residents’ and visitors’ journeys through the Square Mile will be enhanced by the public realm improvements and new retail.”