Brigade has pulled the plug on a development agreement with Landsec U&I and hired architect 5plus to draw up new plans for listed site
The London Fire Brigade is planning to move its headquarters back to the Art Deco building on Albert Embankment where it was based for 70 years after scrapping a £500m scheme to redevelop the site.
The Brigade (LFB) has unveiled new proposals designed by London architect 5plus to refurbish and upgrade the grade II-listed 8 Albert Embankment site, which was the centre of the firefighting operation during the Blitz, to create a new “fit for purpose” head office for around 840 of its staff.
It has pulled the plug on an agreement with Landsec U&I, which it had previously partnered with on plans to redevelop the building as housing and build two residential towers of 26 and 24 storeys to the rear of the site.
The former scheme, designed by Pilbrow & Partners, was approved by Lambeth council in 2019 but later called in by former communities secretary Robert Jenrick and refused in 2021 due to concerns over its impact on nearby heritage assets, including the Palace of Westminster.
This followed another 265-home proposal by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands for Native Land which was rejected by Lambeth council and thrown out by a public inquiry in 2013 because of its impact on daylight in neighbouring properties.
The LFB said its new plans for the site have been “informed by our learnings from these unsuccessful applications”.
It added that it had “worked hard to find a solution” with Landsec U&I but both parties had now “reached the conclusion that LFB needs to explore alternative options and LandsecU+I and the Brigade have drawn their agreement to a close”.
A spokesperson for Landsec U&I said: “After many years of working together with the London Fire Brigade to find a viable proposal for the comprehensive redevelopment of 8 Albert Embankment we reached the difficult decision to bring the 2016 Development Agreement to a close. We support the London Fire Brigade in the next chapter for the project and hope to see it come to fruition in the future.
“We remain focused on developing and investing in mixed-use urban neighbourhoods in London and across the UK.”
Unlike the previous two proposals, the new scheme would not include any housing and would only see the building restored as office space for the LFB, along with a new public exhibition space.
It would also only include the main former headquarters building, with the two sites to the rear of the site which had been earmarked for high rise development now being “considered separately” in conjunction with the Greater London Authority.
The Brigade was based at 8 Albert Embankment from its construction in 1937 until 2007 when it moved into new offices at 169 Union Street in Southwark, which were officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II the following year.
The Union Street lease comes to an end in March 2027 and the Brigade said it does not expect it to be renewed as it “does not meet LFB’s requirements into the future”.
Images of the emerging plans for 8 Albert Embankment show the full retention of the building without the roof extension proposed by Pilbrow & Partners and the retention of a 1930s drill tower on the site.
A four-storey newbuild block would be built on the northern edge of the site while the existing Memorial Hall on its southern side would be overhauled as the events and exhibition venue, featuring a new facade of vertical fins.
This venue aims to display some of the LFB’s collection of more than 20,000 objects, recording the history of firefighting in the capital from the great fire of London in 1666 to the present day.
The building’s fire station would also be refurbished with new firefighter accommodation, parking spaces and a community space added, while the building would also undergo a “deep carbon retrofit”.
The LFB is seeking to retain as much of the original building as possible, including its grand Art Deco frontage which faces the river, which will be repaired and restored to ensure the listed structure “retains its historical significance as the ‘home’ of the London Fire Brigade”.
Others currently working on the emerging proposals include heritage consultant Smith Jenkins, planning consultant Turley and community engagement consultant Kanda. It is currently unknown if the LFB is looking for a new development partner.
Meanwhile, plans for a nearby hotel tower scheme have been redrawn as student accommodation by Hopkins Architects.
Plans for two towers of 29 and 26 storeys on the site of a petrol station at 36-46 Albert Embankment were originally planned as a 900-bed hotel but have been swapped to provide 770 student beds for student accommodation developer Urbanest.
The height of the proposed towers, which Urbanest says would start construction in January next year, has not changed and are largely the same in appearance with some minor design changes.
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