Development and investment giant Land Securities is behind the Kingsgate initiative in Victoria, SW1, and the company has welcomed the government’s public backing for the scheme. Work is now set to start on the creation of two new buildings starting in November, with work scheduled for completion at some point in the summer of 2015.
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Around £350 million will now be spent revamping what is a significant area of the West End of London. One of the two buildings will offer 190,000 sq ft of rentable office space, and the other will deliver 100 new residential apartments. Land Securities estimates that close to 2,500 jobs will be supported during the project’s construction phase.
“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,” said Robert Noel, Land Securities’ chief executive. “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.”
The changes to the planning laws that Land Securities wanted to see before beginning its Kingsgate redevelopment related to the Community Infrastructure Levy that might have seen the company charged several million pounds. Mr Noel described the government’s decision to “listen to the industry” and change the planning laws as “encouraging”.
“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,” said Prime Minister David Cameron. “No one should be in any doubt about our determination to make sure Britain, and the British people, rise in the 21st century.”
Editor’s notes: The redevelopment of Kingsgate House resulted in the building of two new properties – The Zig Zag Building and the residential Kings Gate building.