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.”

Mace is main contractor on the £2bn scheme where prices for the 24 “principal residences” start at £35m.

Construction began in 2020 with full completion anticipated in Spring 2026. The team has included PJ Carey who have been responsible for the creation of the basement substructure and superstructure.

The topping out was marked by the final steel rafter, one of 79 at roof level, being put into place on the top of the nine-storey main apartment building.

With the building’s structure and basement now fully completed the next phases of construction include the finishing of the shell and core works and services and the installation and crafting of the Portland stone façades of the scheme.

Designers, specialist craftspeople and artisans from countries including Britain, Italy, France and America will create the classical architectural details of the façades and interiors.

Features will include porticoed entrances, 648 timber windows, each handcrafted by English window makers Mumford & Wood, 21 sculptural balconies, colonnades and a tiered façade to the uppermost floors providing pavilions with high ceilings opening onto private rooftop terraces.

Craftspeople will also be finishing the internal fit-out of the handcrafted interiors, including a rotunda featuring a ceiling with hand-painted frescos, a grand reception room with a double height ceiling and 18ft (5.5m) high French windows overlooking the garden and a Crystal Gallery, created from over 1,264 hand-set, cast glass pieces.

Developer John Caudwell said: “The topping out marks the completion of the structure and basement of 1 Mayfair and underlines the advanced stage of the project’s construction.

“1 Mayfair will deliver a legacy for London in the form of a landmark residential scheme that is timeless in terms of its architecture, design and build quality, setting a benchmark for London living and luxury design for centuries to come.”

The 10-acre site, which represents the last major brownfield site around the City, will ultimately be built out in a series of 9 plots.

The full plans will provide 500 homes, with 50% affordable, as well as 1.4 million sq ft of workspace, including one of the largest single contributions of affordable workspace of any development in London.

The developers have now got clearance to start work on the first cluster of buildings on plot 1 running alongside Shoreditch High Street and Bethnal Green Road where the existing Box Park temporary shopping mall exists.

Plot 1 involves construction of a large footprint 18-storey office building overflying the Shoreditch Station box and running along Bethnal Green Road.

Formed as two connected buildings, the scheme will provide 550,000 sq ft of office floorspace and ground-floor retail.

View from Bethnal Green Road of the proposed scheme looking west

The developers have also gained reserve matters approval for the restoration of historic buildings on Sclater Street.

Designed by Gensler and Buckley Gray Yeoman, the reserved matters approval marks the next stage in the realisation of the approved scheme.

Outline construction logistics were drawn up by WSP Transport while Hoare Lea provided energy and sustainability services.

The 17-acre masterplan will retain parts of the shopping centre while allowing room for 1,700 new homes alongside 445 co-living flats in a 23-storey building and up to 660 student beds in a 15-storey building.

The new district will be built around eight-acres of green space and public realm, including an urban meadow above a central podium building connecting much of the wider scheme consisting of around 14 major building projects.

Masterplan to redevelop 1970s-built shopping complex will be a decade-long build

Landsec’s masterplan, designed by SEW, includes a detailed application for the first two residential buildings, designed by Mae Architects, Studio MULTI and Archio.

On top of a reimagined shopping centre will be a pedestrianised high street lined with restaurants, cafes and bars.

A 500-capacity live music venue will act as a focus for the area’s cultural scene.

Urban meadow on top of new podium linking high rise residential buildings

Mike Hood, CEO of Landsec U+I said: “This submission marks an important milestone to create a new green centre for Lewisham.

“For the last 20 years our team has been embedded within the community and I’m delighted that we were able to create this vision with thousands of people in Lewisham through one of our most extensive public engagement programmes.”

Demolition of the current shopping centre and the construction of the new one will start in 2026 to be delivered in phases over around 10 years.

LandsecU+I’s planning application will be considered by Lewisham council’s strategic planning committee next year.

New shopping centre below elevated meadow and public realm

The huge cost of widening the scope of buildings needing to fix fire safety problems beyond 18m tall to lower rise building of 11m height was revealed in a new report from the spending watchdog.

Between 9,000 and 12,000 buildings above this height are now estimated to need cladding retrofits.

More than 7,200 of those buildings are yet to be officially identified. And the NAO fears identifying and remediating this huge backlog could take many more years than the 2035 date presently plugged into Government spending estimates for the programme.

To make all these buildings safe could drag on into the next decade, leaving residents “living with the fear of fire and costly bills”, says the report.

Now the NAO has called on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to set a hard deadline to complete works to all unsafe buildings. 

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “Seven years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, there has been progress, but considerable uncertainty remains regarding the number of buildings needing remediation, costs, timelines and recouping public spending. There is a long way to go before all affected buildings are made safe, and risks MHCLG must address if its approach is to succeed.

“Putting the onus on developers to pay and introducing a more proportionate approach to remediation should help to protect taxpayers’ money. Yet it has also created grounds for dispute, causing delays.

“To stick to its £5.1bn cap in the long run, MHCLG needs to ensure that it can recoup funds through successful implementation of the proposed Building Safety Levy.”

The government significantly changed the types of buildings within scope for its programmes, and its approach to remediation, as the scale and impact of the cladding problem has become clearer.

Mandatory registration of high-rise buildings under the Building Safety Act 2022 has helped to advance works and identified nearly all of the high rise buildings at risk.

But there is no mandatory registration for the thousands more medium-rise buildings of 11m to 18m.

Of the 4,771 buildings now in the government’s sight – the equivalent of 258,000 homes – remediation work has yet to start on over half, with around one third complete.

Of all the 9,000-12,000 buildings estimated to be potentially in scope, work is complete for only 12-16%. 

To keep taxpayer contributions within a £5.1bn cap over the long-term, the Government plans to recoup £700m through refunds from developers for remediation works already funded by the taxpayer, and around £3.4bn from the new Building Safety Levy.

In 2023-24 there were potential losses of over £500,000 through fraud by one applicant, which has led the MHCLG to tighten its counter fraud procedures in the management of the Building Safety Fund. 

The NAO report also said the Government needed to do more to ensure that its policies were not working at cross-purposes. 

The Government has accepted there may be overlaps between its remediation programmes and wider government priorities, from decarbonisation to building new homes.

The project is expected to cost between £5bn and £8bn and could be operational by 2040 according to TfL, subject to planning and funding approval.

WW+P, which is lead architect for the project, will focus on the design aspects with AECOM responsible for all engineering matters, including civil, structural, mechanical and geotechnical engineering, as well as stakeholder engagement and consent.

Steve Bell, Regional Director – Europe at WW+P said: “We’re pleased that our work could see the progression of one of the most significant next programmes of regeneration in the region centred around transport-oriented development.”

Unlike most Underground lines, the Bakerloo line currently terminates in Zone 1 in central London, with its final stop at Elephant & Castle. This has been the case since the line opened in 1906, with various proposed extensions over the past century.

The current proposal will see the line run to Lewisham in Southeast London, improving accessibility and reducing journey times to the city centre.

The development plan is focused on regenerating two nearby former light industrial sites at Camley Street and Cedar Way covering around 3.56 acres.

The planned redevelopment will deliver around 350 homes – around 170 of these will be genuinely affordable homes and more than 200,000sq ft of commercial space.

Ballymore and Lateral will now form a joint venture and work with Camden Council and local residents to develop these plans before submitting for planning during the second half of 2025.

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios are masterplanner and lead architect appointed by the council for both sites

Subject to planning permission being secured the joint venture would then acquire 3–30 Cedar Way Industrial Estate (‘Site B’ – 2.37 acres) on a long leasehold to deliver commercial space, private residential units and affordable homes.

Camden Council would directly deliver affordable housing and affordable commercial space on 120–136 Camley Street (‘Site A’ – 1.19 acres). 

John Mulryan, managing director, Ballymore said:  “Camley Street presents significant opportunities for both the Borough of Camden and London as a whole.

“It’s a huge site which has immense potential, and its success will rely on effectively connecting into the Knowledge Quarter ecosystem, ensuring the benefits are accessible to all and reach far and wide.”

The former site of the now demolished Earls Court Exhibition Centres will be transformed into a new £6bn West London neighbourhood of 4,000 homes set within 20 acres of new public open and green space.

Outline plans also provide for 2.5m sq ft of workspace and three new anchor cultural venues.

Developer Delancy, which bought the site four years ago, also submitted detailed plans for phase one due to start construction in 2026.

Warwick Square site opposite the Earls Court Tube station

This will include the first commercial spaces, around 1,500 new homes in a mixed of for rent, market sale , students and later living homes set around Table Park at the heart of the site.

The first phase will include a landmark 45-storey residential building to put Earls Court on London’s skyline.

Landmark residential buildings

Delancey is bringing forward the 40-acre transformation in a development partnership with Dutch pension fund manager APG and Transport for London’s property company.

Studio Egret West and Hawkins Brown are the masterplan architects for Earls Court, alongside nature-based design studio SLA (Stig Lennart Andersson) as landscape architects. They are working alongside Sheppard Robson, Serie Architects and dRMM, ACME, Haworth Tom.

Rob Heasman, chief executive of ECDC, said: “We understand our responsibility to deliver much-needed homes and employment opportunities for London, and nearly half the site will be devoted to green and open public space.”

Table Park at the heart of Earls Court proposals

Jamie Ritblat, Founder and Chairman of Delancey, said: “Our focus has been on delivering value— environmentally, emotionally, and economically—while keeping the future in mind. Though we can’t predict the 22nd century, we have aimed to build with longevity, crafting streets and places that will become part of London’s fabric.

“It is unique for a development of this scale and importance to put spaces first, and buildings second. Despite economic challenges, we are proud of the result and grateful for the support of our partners. We believe this project is a beacon of hope for the capital’s future as a leading global city.”

The ambitious scheme is due to be completed in 2041

Housing completions fell by nearly a fitfh to 14,000 in the year to June with Barratt warning that this year’s level of completions will be even lower at 13,000 to 13,500.

Along with a 4% fall in sale prices revenue fell 22% to £4.2bn.

During the year, Barratt adjusted site-based construction activity to lower reservations, with an average of 257 equivalent homes constructed each week, 20% below the 322 average weekly equivalent in the prior year.

Headcount at the business has fallen by 12% since the recruitment freeze introduced in September 2022.

The expected cost of delivering essential building safety work on finished developments also rose again as the firm continued to take stock of its assets.

Around half of Barratt’s portfolio under review has been assessed under the Fire Risk Assessment of External Walls with 26 more buildings found to need remedial works.

Barratt said it was pressing ahead with remedial work as quickly as possible. Of the 262 buildings now under review at year end, 137 were in progress at tender, site mobilisation or remediation stage.

The additional works raised provisions for fire safety and external wall systems by £126m to a total £628m.

Separate problems with concrete frame design at a further two developments in addition to its large Citiscape flats scheme also increased provisions for reinforced concrete frames by £56m to £102m.

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt, said: “Building safety considerations are paramount in prioritising and scheduling remediation works. Our dedicated Building Safety Unit manages our ongoing building safety remediation programme, which we expect to deliver over the next five years.”

On the wider group performance over the year, he said: “We are pleased to have delivered total home completions at the upper end of our expectations for the year, despite the challenging backdrop.

“Although the macro backdrop remains challenging, particularly demand sensitivity to current mortgage pricing and a lack of higher loan to value mortgage availability we have a strong balance sheet with significant net cash and a solid forward sales position, which allows us to enter FY25 with confidence.”

“Given the subdued but more stable market backdrop and the growing number of land opportunities available we expect to increase our land approvals significantly in FY25 whilst maintaining our rigorous land investment requirements.”

The proposals will deliver 350 new homes across four blocks built on the former car park of the north London station.

Transport for London is required to seek the consent of the Secretary of State for the disposal of land used for its operational purposes. TfL first requested permission in 2021 to sell the land currently used for car parking by the station, but this was denied by the then Secretary of State.

Work will now progress to ensure that the development can begin in the coming years, including updating the designs in response to the latest fire safety requirements and liaising with the local council planning authority on any changes needed.

Places for London, TfL’s property company, is working on multiple projects across London and the proposals at Cockfosters will contribute towards its target of starting construction of 20,000 homes, including 50 per cent affordable housing, by 2031.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “After the previous government refused to approve the plans, I’m delighted that the new government has given us the green light to progress exciting plans for new homes at Cockfosters station.

“Building homes right next to public transport connections is a key part of our plans to deliver the high-quality homes Londoners need.”

Graeme Craig, Director and Chief Executive of Places for London, said: “We are delighted that we are now able to make progress with our plans at Cockfosters now that we have the green light to release the land. We look forward to working across the capital with the Government and the Mayor as we progress the plans to deliver the homes that London urgently needs.”