A landmark development along the Thames has just been approved: Custom House, a Grade I-listed building on Lower Thames Street formerly occupied by HM Revenue & Customs, will be transformed into a 179-room luxury hotel.

Owner Jastar Capital, via its subsidiary Custom House City, has secured planning permission after submitting revised proposals earlier in 2025.

Built in the early 19th century, Custom House has a long history tied to the Port of London; it has housed customs operations since the early 1800s, was heavily modified after wartime damage and successive rebuilds, and most recently served as HMRC offices until left vacant in 2021.

The hotel scheme, designed by Orms and Richard Griffiths Architects, includes more than just guest rooms. It will offer spa and wellness facilities, dining and F&B venues, plus historic interior spaces (notably the Tidewaiters and Long Rooms) opened for community or cultural use.

One of the most visible public benefits is the reuse of the existing car park and removal of security railings to create a riverside plaza of about 25,900 sq ft, offering open pedestrian access along the Thames that has long been fenced off.

Once complete, the conversion is expected not only to preserve and shed new light on the building’s heritage, but also to open up this stretch of riverfront for daily use by Londoners and visitors alike.

Travel across the City of London is set for significant disruption as strike action hits both the London Underground and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) during the second week of September. The RMT union has confirmed industrial action from Sunday 7 to Thursday 11 September, with walkouts expected to shut down large parts of the Tube network. Additional strikes on the DLR are scheduled for the same period, compounding difficulties for workers and visitors to the Square Mile.

Transport for London (TfL) has warned that most Underground services will not run, with only limited sections expected to remain open. The DLR will also be heavily affected, particularly on weekdays, making journeys into the financial district extremely challenging. While buses, Overground, and Elizabeth line services will continue to operate, they are expected to be much busier than usual.

City workers are being urged to plan ahead, allow extra time for journeys, and check live travel updates before setting out. For those travelling into the Square Mile, walking or cycling may be the most reliable alternatives.

Eric Parry Architects have been chosen by the City of London Corporation to design a new headquarters building in Fleet Street for the City of London Police.

The firm will partner with specialist sub-consultants Raymond Smith Partnership and Feilden + Mawson Architects to form the architectural team leading the development of the police station.

A world-class fraud and cybercrime court with 18 courtrooms will also also be included in the scheme which will replace the Mayor’s and City of London County Court, and City of London Magistrates’ Court

The project is being developed in partnership with HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) and the judiciary.

Eric Parry, Founder and Principal of Eric Parry Architects said:

“We are thrilled to have been awarded this commission for the design of a complex and vitally important group of buildings that will provide a new civic quarter both for the City of London and the country.”

The City of London Corporation announced last November that it had acquired 68 – 71 Fleet Street from Royal London Group as the site of the new development.

BLOOMBERG’s new European head office in the City of London has been awarded the 2018 Sterling Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The stunning building, just off Cannon Street, has created over 100,000 square metres of office and retail space across two buildings separated by a new public arcade which recreates an old Roman thoroughfare.

Thought to the be the biggest stone building built in the City since St Paul’s Cathedral in the late 17th century, the Bloomberg building was the unanimous choice of RIBA judges.

The £1bn redevelopment designed by Foster + Partners was labelled a “a once-in-a-generation project”.

It’s the 23rd time that the Sterling Prize for excellence in architecture, named after James Sterling, has been awarded. Foster and Partner’s also won the award for the Gherkin at 30 St Mary Axe in 2004.

A FLEXIBLE office provider with six business centres in the City of London has announced a new refinancing package worth £84 million.

BE Offices has just concluded the deal with HSBC which extends the period of its fixed debt to five years and releases cash to fund the company’s planned expansion.

Simon Rusk, BE’s Finance Director and co-founder, commented: “This is a major milestone in BE’s development. We are probably in the strongest financial position since the company was launched 25 years ago and at a time when this
stability gives us an incredible platform to take BE to the next phase of its planned growth.”

BE, which was founded in 1994, acquired the co-working specialists Headspace Group last year.

The company’s City of London business centres are in Aldgate, Barbican, Cheapside, Farringdon, Threadneedle Street and at the Royal Exchange. It has a further thirteen facilities at locations across London and the UK.

 

TWO new water fountains installed at Liverpool Street station have made a splash since their arrival.

More than 8,000 litres of drinking water, equivalent to 16,000 bottles of water, have been dispensed by the recently-installed fountains in less than a month.

The water fountains, located near the Underground entrance and near the Bishopsgate exit, were part of an initial group of four installed in the capital and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a further sixteen locations across London.

The Mayor has worked with theZoological Society of London’s (ZSL) #OneLess campaign to secure the locations of the fountains.

Mayor Khan partnered with MIW Water Cooler Experts on a London Drinking Fountain Fund to provide up to £85,000 to finance the installation of fountains.

 

THE CITY of London Corporation has launched a public consultation on improvements to the public spaces in the “Eastern City Cluster.”

The Square Mile’s local authority says it wants to receive views about a range of proposals to the public realm in an area which has become home to a group of the City’s tallest buildings.

A range of proposals have been published including traffic calming measures, prioritising pedestrian routes, introducing greenery, and improving crossings.

The strategy has an ambition “to create outstanding public spaces” between the tall buildings which include the Leadenhall Building, the just-approved Cheesegrater 2, the Scalpel and the Gherkin.

The consultation runs until August 5th.