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The developer aims to retain and re-use the existing 1960s building core and foundations at its Regent’s Place site, while adding new low carbon structures to create a new-look 31-storey building with bigger floor-plates.

Lendlease was involved in pre-construction planning work on the new tower, including designing the outline demolition and construction approach, although the appointment of a main contractor is yet to be announced.

David Lockyer, Head of Development at British Land, said: “We are delighted to receive planning consent for this incredible scheme – the first West End tower in a generation, and likely to be the last.

“The tower is ideally located at our Regent’s Place campus, where the Knowledge Quarter meets the West End, and where businesses can benefit from the great concentration of academic and research institutions between Harley Street and King’s Cross.”

The developer has worked closely with the council and Historic England to unlock the hugely complex 23-acre brownfield site, which will see a £72m investment in the temporary dismantling, restoration and re-erection of the listed gasholders.

Seven gasholder frames will contain buildings of up to 10-storeys, a further six new buildings will surround these, rising to 15-20 storeys and echoing the cylindrical designs.

The regeneration programme is forecast to create over 2,800 on-site jobs during construction, 30,000 sq ft of new commercial space and will make a £4.4m contribution towards local skills and employment programmes.

Structural steel engineering specialists Craddys and Shepley was closely involved in drawing up plans to reuse the cast iron gas holder structures, built between 1870 and 1882 for a cost of £300,000.

Both firms were previously involved in the project to dismantle, refurbish and re-erect the Gasholder No.8 guide frame at Kings Cross as well as the refurbishment and re-erection of the Kings Cross Triplets Gasholders.

St William submitted a hybrid planning application for the site, which also include the remains of two gas holders destroyed by the Luftwaffe in the second World War.

The second damaged gasholder will be turned into a community space covered with one of the gas holder cylinder iron frames.

Planned community area framed with iron frame from one of the old gasholder tanks

The firm bought the 100 Avenue Road site in Swiss Cottage after it stalled under a previous developer’s ownership following the completion of demolition and basement works.

The new plan retains the previous 24-floor tower of the original consented scheme but introduces key improvements.

It will now include a second staircase, feature a brick facade and prioritises sustainability with a gas-free, net-zero carbon approach.

The number of homes will increase from 184 to 237, with 35% designated as affordable housing, managed by a housing association. The remaining flats will now be homes for sale rather than for rent.

Ground floor space will feature improved commercial and community spaces, including new community facilities developed in consultation with The Winch.

Previous 100 Avenue Road project stalled at the foundations level due to soaring costs and a dispute with the council over affordable housing provision

Steve Harrington, Planning Director at Regal, said: “London is in the grip of a housing crisis, with too many developments stalled and too few homes being delivered.

“At 100 Avenue Road, we are unlocking a scheme that will bring forward 237 homes, including a significant proportion of affordable housing, in a prime, well-connected location.

“By taking decisive action to optimise the existing permission and meet modern standards, we are ensuring this site delivers on its full potential—providing high-quality homes and community benefits at a time when they are needed more than ever.”

The Foster + Partners’ approved design includes a pair of slender residential towers of 28 and 38 storeys and a podium building of seven-storeys.

Giles Robinson, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners, said: “The scheme will provide the highest quality homes that overlook one of London’s most spectacular new public parks.

“Responding to St William’s brief and working closely with the landscape designers, Gillespies, our design complements the historic urban surroundings and enhances connections with nature, by significantly increasing the amount of green space at the base of the towers and extending the experience of the park onto the podium’s rooftop.”

Dean Summers, Managing Director, St William, added: “The vision for King’s Road Park is to transform a redundant gasworks into a sustainable and welcoming neighbourhood, including a beautiful park and around 1,800 private and affordable homes.

“This is brownfield regeneration at its best and we’re delighted to have been granted planning consent for this important part of the masterplan.”

The two residential towers and podium are located on the eastern side of the masterplan. New homes face onto the park, which is located at the centre of the wider development and features a restored Grade II listed gasholder.

Foster + Partners’ phase four design reworks a previously submitted outline scheme, removing one tower and increasing the size of the floorplates in the two remaining buildings. The design has increased the size of the public park by almost 5,000 square feet and improves connectivity between King’s Road and Imperial Wharf Station.

The wider King’s Road Park neighbourhood is being created by St Willliam from a redundant 16-acre gasworks within the Fulham Riverside Regeneration Area.

Once all phases are complete, this new community will include around 1,800 homes, six-acres of public parks and open space and around 100,000 sq ft of new commercial uses.

A section 106 legal agreement has been finalised for the 2.2-acre brownfield site, which will be transformed into a 245 home mixed-tenure neighbourhood close to West Ham and Stratford Stations.

The development will now need Gateway 2 approval from the Building Safety Regulator before St William can start on site. 

Building envelopes feature a mix of handmade bricks and façade detailing which alludes to Victorian industrial heritage and the Grade II Listed Bazalgette-designed homes near the site’s southern edge.

Late last year Berkeley Group outlined its new investment strategy, including the ambition to put more sites through planning and into delivery, in response to the Government’s pro-homebuilding agenda.

Dean Summers, managing director of St William, said: “We need to make full use of London’s brownfield sites, and I want to commend the teams at LLDC and the London Borough of Newham for helping us to finalise the section 106 agreement within just five weeks of the planning committee’s approval.”

Designed in partnership with Cowen + Partners and LDA Design, St William’s proposals also include investments in the wider neighbourhood.

The design responds to the nearby Grade II* Listed Abbey Mills Pumping Station and a group of Grade II Listed mid-19^th Century houses, both designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette.

It is the third incarnation of plans for the 36-46 Albert Embankment site in Vauxhall, which received planning for a 900-bed hotel across similar proposed towers two years ago.

Before this plan, the site occupied by a Jet petrol station and owned by engineering firm Hotchkiss, had started out in the early 2000s as a planned flats scheme.

Under the new plan drawn up by architect Hopkins Architects for student developer Urbanest, the scale and appearance of the scheme will be similar to the second hotel plan.

The building heights are staying the same at 29 and 26 storeys with very minor changes to the overall massing to accommodate the change in use from a hotel to a purpose built student accommodation development.

Urbanest has struck a deal with University College London to take a large number of the rooms and aims to start work on the project by January 2026.

The scheme aims to achieve Passivhaus certification, become Net Zero in operation, target a BREEAM rating of Outstanding.

The submission for Lodge Lane will be followed shortly by an outline submission for the wider North Finchley masterplan.

The proposed development includes 98 apartments alongside  30,500 sq ft of commercial space, including a restaurant, cinema, and bowling alley.

A key feature of the redevelopment is a new public square, designed to serve as a central gathering space for leisure, events, and social interaction.

Steve Harrington, Planning Director, Regal said: “Lodge Lane is the first piece of the puzzle for the wider North Finchley town centre masterplan project.

“Working with Barnet, we have listened to and learnt from local groups and have submitted plans that we believe will bring new life to the town centre, offering economic benefits through job creation and new commercial opportunities, reinforcing North Finchley’s position as a dynamic and desirable place to live, work, and visit.”