Councillors set to approve transformation of London's old City Hall

Transcript

00:00Plans to transform and repurpose London's former City Hall building into shops,

00:04restaurants and offices are set to be approved.

00:07Planning officers at Southwark Council have advised local councillors to grant permission

00:11for the scheme. The building was purpose-designed by Lord Norman Foster as the Greater London

00:15Authority's headquarters and was opened by the Queen in 2002.

00:19It stood empty and unused for the last three years, after Mayor Sadiq Khan relocated

00:23operations to a conference centre in East London in a bid to cut costs.

00:27In 2020, the building was estimated to cost the GLA £11.1 million a year and was set

00:32to increase. Khan said the move would save £55 million over five years.

00:37Under plans submitted by the building's private landlord, the London landmark would

00:41undergo a major facelift, with the exterior glass shell removed and several new balconies

00:46created. The ground floor will include spaces for new cafes, shops and restaurants, with

00:51office spaces proposed on the upper floors. Southwark Council have recommended that the

00:55project be approved as it would modernise the building and surrounding area and bring

00:59it back into use. Most of the organisations and public bodies consulted on the proposals

01:03have raised few or no objections to the plans. However, some, including Historic England,

01:08have shared concerns about aspects of the scheme or asked that conditions be imposed

01:12as part of planning permission. The decision will be taken by councillors at a Planning

01:16Committee meeting on Tuesday 10 December.