Westminster approves £600m Victoria Street office tower under retrofit-first policy

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Westminster City Council approved a £600 million redevelopment of 10-20 Victoria Street on 13 October. The 3-2 vote lets investment manager Meadow Partners demolish two post-war office blocks and build a 12-storey Grade A tower near Parliament Square. Chair Rachael Robathan cast the deciding ballot.

The decision lands as central London's Grade A office supply sits at record lows. Westminster has lost nearly 4 million sq ft of office space since 2019, much of it converted to homes. The approval also tests the borough's 'retrofit first' policy, which required the developer to justify demolition against the carbon cost of building new.

Why it matters

This approval adds rare Grade A office space to central London and sets the precedent for whether Westminster's retrofit-first policy will clear future new-build towers.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

$794M

Project value

Estimated £600m redevelopment cost for the 10-20 Victoria Street scheme.

258,000 sq ft

New office space

Approximately 24,000 sq m of Grade A office floorspace replacing two post-war buildings, plus 754 sq m of retail.

3-2

Committee vote

Planning sub-committee approval split along party lines, with chair Rachael Robathan casting the deciding vote.

Storeys

Ground plus 12 upper storeys, with rooftop plant and terraces.

~4M sq ft

Office space lost since 2019

Westminster shed roughly 4 million sq ft of offices, largely via residential conversion, per a Westminster Property Association-Arup report.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Rachael Robathan

Chair, Westminster City Council planning sub-committee

Cast the deciding vote for approval

Nafsika Butler-Thalassis

Labour councillor, Westminster planning sub-committee

Voted against the scheme

Guy Bransby

Partner and head of central London planning, Montagu Evans

Planning consultant for the project

Organizations Involved

Meadow Partners

Real estate investment manager

Developer of the 10-20 Victoria Street scheme

Real estate investment manager and developer behind the 10-20 Victoria Street redevelopment, which it filed through Healey Development (Victoria Street) Limited.

Piercy & Company

Architecture practice

Designer of the approved scheme

Architecture practice that designed the 13-storey Victoria Street scheme, using natural limestone and green granite.

Westminster City Council

Local authority

Planning authority that granted permission

Borough council whose planning sub-committee approved the redevelopment under its 'retrofit first, not retrofit only' policy.

Timeline

2026 October 2026

3 events Latest: 2 days ago

October 2026
Committee approves £600m Victoria Street tower
Latest Planning Decision

Westminster's planning sub-committee votes 3-2 to approve the redevelopment, with chair Rachael Robathan casting the deciding vote. Approval is secured with a £926,305.80 climate contribution.
2 days ago
January 2026
Application registered for 10-20 Victoria Street
Application

Meadow Partners files a full planning application with Westminster City Council to demolish two post-war buildings and build a 13-storey office-led scheme.
January 2nd, 2026
2026
WPA-Arup report documents office space loss
Report

Westminster Property Association and Arup find the borough lost nearly 4 million sq ft of office space since 2019, mostly to residential conversion.
2026

Scenarios

Meadow Partners appoints contractor and construction begins

Likely Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Building magazine, which reported contractors are closing in on a £150m construction contract

Meadow Partners names a main contractor and starts demolition and construction, likely progressing faster if a tenant pre-lets space. The Building report said contractors were already circling the roughly £150m job, so appointment could come within months.

Major occupier pre-lets space at Victoria Street

Possible Resolves by Q2 2028

Discussed by: Property analysts quoted in the realtytoday.com report, noting tenants with lease expiries in 2028-2030 may weigh the scheme

A large office tenant signs a pre-let ahead of completion, signaling market confidence and locking in revenue. The report noted pre-let activity typically accelerates before a building is ready, so a deal could surface as delivery nears in the late 2020s.

Legal challenge seeks to quash the permission

Unlikely Resolves by Nov 30, 2026

Discussed by: Standard six-week judicial review window under UK planning law

A third party files for judicial review to overturn the permission, citing the carbon cost of demolition. Any statutory challenge must come within six weeks of the decision. The tight 3-2 vote and the divisive retrofit-first debate make a challenge conceivable, though no party has signaled one.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

May 2013

Office-to-residential permitted development rights (2013)

The UK government introduced permitted development rights letting office buildings convert to residential use without full planning permission, intended to speed housing delivery.

Then

Conversions surged, particularly in London, turning commercial floorspace into flats.

Now

Westminster lost nearly 4 million sq ft of office space since 2019, much attributed to residential conversion, worsening the Grade A supply squeeze.

Why this matters now

This supply drain is the backdrop for the Victoria Street scheme, which adds Grade A office space to a borough that has been losing it.

2007-2014

20 Fenchurch Street 'Walkie Talkie' (2007-2014)

Land Securities' 160-metre tower at 20 Fenchurch Street was approved in 2007, then stalled when the financial crisis hit before finally opening in 2014.

Then

New London office tower construction froze during the recession and resumed only slowly.

Now

The cycle shows planning approval does not guarantee timely delivery; schemes can sit for years before construction starts.

Why this matters now

The Victoria Street project is expected to take three to five years from approval to completion, so its delivery depends on market conditions holding through the late 2020s.