New Bridge Street retrofit wins consent with reworked, more deliverable plans

Planning permission has been granted for a reworked deep-retrofit scheme at 10 New Bridge Street in the City of London, after national planning and development consultancy Lichfields helped reshape the proposals to keep the project deliverable while enhancing its public benefits.

The new permission replaces an earlier 2023 consent for the redevelopment and extension of Fleet House. In response to shifting market conditions and construction cost pressures, Lichfields advised developer Atenor through a full reappraisal of options, securing a revised scheme that maintains a best-in-class office-led development, strengthens the public offer and remains viable on a highly constrained, heritage-sensitive site.

At the heart of the project is a fabric-first, low-carbon approach that retains around 73% of the existing structure, aligning with the City of London Corporation’s focus on refurbishment over demolition and reduction of embedded carbon. The updated design increases the building’s height from eight to nine storeys and remodels the top levels to create new amenity spaces for occupiers and the public.

A key feature is a 162 sq.m south-facing roof terrace and garden at the top of the building, which will be publicly accessible outside office hours and offers views towards St Bride’s Church, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Palace of Westminster and across the wider City. Additional interventions include new planting and amenity spaces at levels 8 and 9, a redesigned and enhanced ground-floor public house, improved public realm along Bridewell Place with a new pocket park at the street corner, and a dynamic public art installation along Bridewell Passage. The scheme is targeting BREEAM ‘Outstanding’.

Lichfields led the planning strategy from project inception through pre-application engagement, submission and determination, drawing on its experience of complex inner-City sites to address heritage impacts associated with the increased height and to demonstrate the uplift in public benefits compared with the previous approval. Its consultation-led approach with statutory consultees and local stakeholders helped the application to be determined under delegated authority.

The project also delivers additional employment floorspace and substantial associated economic benefits, which were quantified and evidenced by Lichfields through a detailed Economic Benefits Assessment. The consultancy also prepared the Equalities Impact Assessment and Health Impact Assessment required to support the application.

Ian Anderson, Senior Director at Lichfields, said:

“With a number of City office schemes being revisited or delayed, the priority here was to secure a permission that could actually be built, while improving what the development gives back to the City. By working closely with Atenor and the City of London Corporation, we’ve shown that a deep-retrofit scheme can respond to viability pressures, respect heritage sensitivities and still raise the bar on public access, sustainability and design quality.”

“This consent provides a clear path forward for 10 New Bridge Street and is a strong example of the shift towards well-designed, low-carbon refurbishment in the Square Mile. It is encouraging to see a scheme of this scale remain deliverable while enhancing the public realm and wider benefits, and we’re pleased to have supported it to this stage.”