180 Piccadilly

Client: GPE (Great Portland Estates)

Borough: City of Westminster

Date: May-December 2023

In 2022, Pontsarn Investments Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of GPE, obtained planning consent from Westminster City Council for the wholesale redevelopment of 180 Piccadilly and 50 Jermyn Street. The redevelopment includes Grade A office space as well as retail, restaurant and gym uses on the ground floor level. 

An amendment application (section 73) was prepared and submitted in August 2023 to include several improvements to the consented scheme. The updated proposals are possible because of the successful removal of steel beams from another GPE building in the City of London. Recovered beams, which will be carefully cut to size, present an opportunity to remove supporting columns within the consented scheme to create open plan floors throughout the building. 

This is a pioneering project for reusing steelwork at the scale in the UK, enabling lessons to be shared to help the construction industry to become more sustainable in the future. The use of reclaimed steel sections offers a vast embodied carbon saving which when compared to new steel, with the potential to save over 700 tonnes of CO2e for this project, as well as improving the architectural layout within the building. 

Having managed the communication and public consultation strategy for the original application, Comm Comm UK were appointed for the Section 73 amendment. We engaged with neighbouring residents, local stakeholders and politicians to hear their views, and provided detailed information about the proposal on a dedicated project website. A leaflet was distributed locally, offering ways to provide feedback, ask questions and get in touch. 

For the convenience of stakeholders, online meetings were held to ensure the engagement rate was a successful as possible. Further in-person meetings were held at local societies where site visits were necessary. Comm Comm UK provided a Statement of Community Engagement for inclusion within the planning application which was submitted in September 2023.