‘The Slab’ redevelopment begins construction on London’s South Bank
A mixed use construction scheme on London’s South Bank has been given the green light after developers won a court battle against a campaign group last December.
Mitsubishi Estate was granted planning permission by the High Court last December for the redevelopment of 72 Upper Ground, the old headquarters of ITV, after over a year of pushback from campaign group Save Our Southbank (SOS).
The site, named ‘The Slab,’ has been vacant since 2018, but Mitsubishi plans to transform it into a mixed-use scheme containing office spaces, new cafes and restaurants, cultural venues and green spaces.
With demolition now underway, the developers aim to complete the 2.5 acre site by 2029.
The Slab’s development follows a string of mixed-use sites popping up across London, from Battersea Power Station to Canary Wharf.
Chief Executive of Mitsubishi Estate London, Shinichi Kagitomi, said the development would make a “significant positive contribution” to the South Bank.
UK Managing Director at Multiplex Callum Tuckett similarly said the venue would “transform this part of the South Bank”.
Mitsubishi Estate estates said that creative organisations will have an “unprecedented opportunity to use the space” at discounts of up to 90 per cent from open market rents, with 40,000 sq ft net affordable workspace for the creative industries.
However, Historic England has previously described the building as “harmful” to the National Theatre, “because of the close proximity of the proposed buildings and their impact on the importance of these designated heritage assets in river views”.
The Twentieth Century Society has described the new building as an “over-development of a site within a sensitive historic environment”.
When planning permission was granted last December, Michael Ball from Save Our South Bank said: “The site is designated for housing, and could provide over 200 homes, but there is no housing, despite buildings which lend themselves to conversion [and] the demolition and development will generate huge amounts of carbon, which is completely unnecessary.”