Plans to redevelop and convert the old London Fire Brigade headquarters on the south bank of the Thames have been thrown out by the government – a year and a half after getting approval from Lambeth Council.
Developers U + I were working with the London Fire Commissioner to build 443 flats and a 200-room hotel, refurbish Lambeth Fire Station and build a new version of the London Fire Brigade Museum in a £500m scheme at 8 Albert Embankment.
The plans were narrowly given approval by the local council in December 2019, despite the concerns of many residents on the local Whitgift Estate about the overshadowing effects of the new 26- and 24-storey towers and the resulting loss of sunlight, as well as the low level of social housing included.
But the plans were ‘called in’ for an inquiry last year by Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government. The inspector Dave Richards recommended that the scheme be rejected.
The ministry’s recent ruling is to uphold his recommendation, based on the “gloominess” the towers would cause for residents of local blocks and the effect the towers would have on the old fire brigade headquarters – which is a grade II listed building – and on the protected views from the palace of Westminster across the river. Local residents have campaigned for the plans to be rejected for years.
The site was the headquarters of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) for 70 years until 2007, when the brigade moved to Union Street in the Bankside area. The redevelopment of the site has been a long-running saga. The 2019 council approval followed a 2013 rejection, which was upheld in 2014 after a public inquiry.