City Hall may have been saved from future alterations after the government rejected a ‘Certificate of Immunity from Listing’ (COI) application.
Kuwaiti-owned St Martin’s Property Group submitted the application after the Greater London Authority moved out to The Crystal Building in Newham’s Royal Docks in January 2022.
If accepted, it would have prevented the ‘neo-futuristic’ building from being listed for at least five years, potentially paving the way for structural changes.
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But the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMAS) rejected the application, meaning the building could be protected by listed status in the future.
The Twentieth Century Society (C20) celebrated the news saying: “C20 Society is pleased with DCMS’s rejection of the COI request, leaving the door open for the building to be considered for listing in the future.
“Indeed, while Historic England’s report concluded that it was still too soon to fully assess the architectural significance of City Hall, it pointedly did not rule out that the criteria for listing may be met in the future.”
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Developers often submit COIs to gain assurance that their plans for alteration won’t be subject to stringent guidelines.
In City Hall’s case, it’s possible that its interior structural design, specifically made for the GLA’s purposes, make it unappealing to prospective leaseholders.
Oli Marshall, Campaigns Manager at the 20C Society said: “It was a purpose built as the home for the assembly so it had a lot of things that were intended for that usage. The assembly chamber is the most evident. It had all the values of a democratic building designed into it.”
The rejection of the application indicates that the DCMAS regards City Hall as of “special architectural interest”.
In 2021, the C20 society applied to have the building listed but was rejected by Historic England because the building was not in immediate danger of demolition.
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City Hall was designed by architect Norman Foster, built in 2002 at a cost of £43 million, and then leased to the GLA.
In 2013, London Bridge Holdings sold the More London estate, which includes City Hall, to Kuwaiti firm St Martins Property Group.
In November 2020, Sadiq Khan announced that the GLA would move to new premises, saving the taxpayers £61 million over five years.