Land Securities has announced that it will start redeveloping the former Kingsgate House on Victoria Street, SW1 next month, as part of its transformation of Victoria.
The commitment comes as a result of a Government change to planning laws in relation to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Regulations. This has removed the risk of a potential CIL being applied on the whole development as opposed to just the minor amendment. On large scale projects such as Kingsgate, the potential bill could have been millions of pounds.
The announcement comes after the Prime Minister, David Cameron, visited the site. Robert Noel, Chief Executive of Land Securities said:
“It is heartening to know that the Government has listened to the industry and acted to remove some of the uncertainty in the planning process. It enables us to progress with developing the former Kingsgate House site and continue to transform Victoria into a distinct and vibrant West End hub where people choose to live, work and visit. Our experience with our current developments demonstrates that Victoria is proving attractive to potential occupiers. This project will further add to its appeal.”
Prime Minister David Cameron said:
“Already the changes we are making to the planning system are having an impact, with Land Securities giving the go-ahead to a major multi-million pound investment, supporting thousands of jobs in our construction industry. No one should be in any doubt about our determination to make sure Britain, and the British people, rise in the 21st century."
The scheme, designed by Lynch Architects, comprises two new buildings: The Zig Zag Building, a 190,000 sq ft office building over 14 floors with a staggered façade; and Kings Gate, a 12 storey residential building comprising 100 apartments. Both buildings will provide a new and enhanced retail offer with 45,000 sq ft of space, together with considerable improvements to the public realm benefitting the wider Victoria area. The buildings are planned to complete in summer 2015 having supported an estimated 2,500 jobs throughout the construction phase.
In addition, the development provides for an affordable housing contribution of £11.6m which will be directed towards the provision of much needed affordable development in the Westminster area.
In 2010, Land Securities was the first major commercial property developer to restart large scale development after the downturn, when it started a £655m West End development programme. Since then it has advanced a development pipeline of over 2.5 m sq ft. Major retail schemes in Leeds and Glasgow are both due to complete next year, and in London it has over 1.6m sq ft of office space being delivered together with over 250,000 sq ft of residential development.
The construction contracts alone on these schemes are worth over £1 billion and estimated to be sustaining over 14,000 jobs through the construction period.
The commitment to build The Zig Zag Building and Kings Gate will see Land Securities further extend its innovative Employment Programme which offers training opportunities in construction and ring-fences jobs designed to get the long-term unemployed, young people and ex-offenders back into work.
Land Securities actively works with the Greater London Authority, Westminster City Council, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, Job Centreplus, the London Probation Trust, the Prince’s Trust and grassroots community groups to engage with disadvantaged unemployed young people in Westminster. Since the launch of the London Employment Programme in 2010, Land Securities has already helped 204 people with training including 6 apprenticeships and 35 NVQs and secured jobs for 83 Londoners.
This new development forms part of Land Securities’ regeneration and investment in Victoria SW1, and follows the major refurbishment of 123 Victoria Street, providing 199,000 sq ft of offices, Wellington House, comprising 59 residential apartments and 62 Buckingham Gate, providing 278,000 sq ft of new retail and office space. As part of each of these developments, there has been considerable investment into public realm and other local community benefits, including the provision of 25 affordable housing dwellings at Wilton Plaza. In addition, the capital’s most exciting mixed use scheme at Victoria Circle is being prepared with demolition underway and delivery likely to be phased between 2016 and 2018.
Commenting further on the commitment to build The Zig Zag Building and Kings Gate, Robert Noel, Land Securities’ Chief Executive said:
“Despite the uncertainty in the wider economy, we continue to invest in the UK based on our clear plan to build space where we see demand. Our investment is predicated on an understanding of our core markets and capitalises on the financial strength we have to invest when others are constrained.
“Our plans are good for us, good for the UK and good for jobs. Our investments not only drive economic benefits for the communities they impact but also social benefits. In pushing ahead now we will continue to make employment opportunities available in order to enable out-of-work Londoners to meet their full potential.”
Source: Land Securities www.landsecurities.com 18.10.2012