Decision final unless it is successfully challenged in court, housing secretary says
The government has approved David Chipperfield Architects’ controversial plans for a Chinese embassy on the former Royal Mint Court site on the eastern edge of the City of London.
Housing secretary Steve Reed’s approval for the 20,000sq m scheme, announced this morning, follows years of delays to the project, set to be the largest embassy in Europe, amid persistent concerns over threats to national security.
The government said this morning the planning decision had been “taken independently” by Reed following a process that began in 2018 with diplomatic consent in principle for the project under the then Conservative government.
The statement added: “More broadly, countries establishing embassies in other countries’ capitals is a normal part of international relations.
“National security is our first duty. Intelligence agencies have been involved throughout the process and an extensive range of measures have been developed to manage any risks.
“Following extensive negotiations in recent months, the Chinese government has agreed to consolidate its seven current sites in London into one site, bringing clear security advantages.”
Opposition to the embassy has focused on its proximity to a key cable network which carries a vast amount of data to the City, and a series of unmarked rooms in the basement of the proposed buildings which would be positioned close to where the cables run past the site.
A public inquiry into the scheme last year also heard concerns around the safety of protestors due to the constrained space available around the site, which neighbours a key road junction north of Tower Bridge.
Reed said this morning: “All material considerations were taken into account when making this decision,”, adding that the decision is “now final unless it is successfully challenged in court.”
The Conservative party has been highly critical of Labour’s approval for the scheme, with shadow housing secretary James Cleverley calling it a “disgraceful act of cowardice from a Labour government and prime minister utterly devoid of backbone”.
Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel added: “Keir Starmer has sold off our national security to the Chinese Communist Party with his shameful super embassy surrender.”
She claimed Starmer was “giving [China’s president] Xi Jinping what he wants - a colossal spy hub in the heart of our capital.”
A decision on the scheme has been delayed multiple times since its planning application was first submitted to Tower Hamlets council in 2021, with the initial plans rejected in 2022 before an identical scheme was resubmitted last year.
This scheme was called in by former communities secretary Angela Rayner in October 2024 and sent to a public inquiry held in February last year. In August, Rayner asked China to explain why some rooms in the embassy, particularly in the basement areas, had been blanked out in the planning application.
Under Chipperfield’s plans, the grade II* listed Johnson Smirke Building would be refurbished as the main embassy building to host formal reception spaces and offices.
The grade II-listed Seaman’s Registry would also be refurbished under the scheme with various additions to both buildings, which were carried out as part of the mint’s redevelopment in the 1980s, due to be replaced.
Two linked blocks constructed as part of the 1980s redevelopment, Dexter House and Murray House, would be separated and reconfigured, with Murray House stripped back to its frame to create a new ceramic-clad cultural centre.
David Chipperfield Architects declined to comment.
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