Policy information sourced from City of London Local Plan

CS1: Offices

To ensure the City of London provides additional office development of the highest quality to meet demand from long term employment growth and strengthen the beneficial cluster of activities found in and near the City that contribute to London’s role as the world’s leading international financial and business centre, by:

  • Increasing the City’s office floorspace stock by 1,150,000m2 gross during the period 2011–2026 to meet the needs of projected long term economic and employment growth, phased as follows:
    • 2011 – 2016: 650,000m2
    • 2016 – 2021: 250,000m2
    • 2021 – 2026: 250,000m2

A pipeline of at least 750,000m2 gross office floorspace with planning permission but not yet commenced will be maintained to provide office occupier choice.

  • Encouraging the assembly and development of large sites, where appropriate, to meet the accommodation needs of the City’s biggest occupiers, protecting potential large office sites from piecemeal development and resisting development that would jeopardise the future assembly and delivery of large sites.
  • Encouraging the supply of a range of high quality office accommodation to meet the varied needs of City office occupiers.
  • Promoting inward investment and encouraging developers and businesses to invest and locate in the City.
  • Protecting existing office accommodation where there are strong economic reasons why the loss of offices would be inappropriate, including losses that would prejudice the primary business function of the City, and the variety of accommodation required by the business City.
  • Managing short-term over supply in the office market through a flexible approach to alternative temporary uses for vacant offices and sites, where such uses would not prejudice the eventual return of the site to office use.

For more information please see the Local Plan