Neighbourhood news, features, and comment
Derwent London, the property development company who eleven years ago said "we want to get rid of the idea that we will come in and knock everything down", is planning to knock down yet another large building, adding to the pile of rubble it has already trucked out of Fitzrovia. The Network Building on the …
Continue reading "Derwent London plans major demolition and redevelopment on Tottenham Court Road"
International construction contractor Multiplex has caved in to pressure from residents and abandoned its plans for an overnight concrete pour at the redevelopment of the former Saatchi & Saatchi building on Charlotte Street. The construction site is Derwent London's largest development project in London and Multiplex are contracted to carry of the demolition and reconstruction …
Construction giant Multiplex are pressing Camden Council to allow them to work through the night on Derwent London's largest office and residential development, to play catch-up on a site which has been dogged by delays. Mutiplex wants to pour concrete onto steelwork at the 80 Charlotte Street site overnight between Friday 26 and Saturday 27 …
Continue reading "Derwent and Multiplex want 24-hour construction on Charlotte Street"
The Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Forum is urging Westminster council to reject plans by property developer Derwent London to part demolish and redevelop a cluster of commercial buildings on a corner site in the Hanway Street conservation area. Plans by Derwent are for the demolition and redevelopment behind retained facades of 54-62 Oxford Street and 51-58 …
Staff at Arup's London headquarters were left with a weekend of unnecessary uncertainty about the future of their offices after a surprise announcement was made saying their building had been sold and that they were moving but to an unknown new address. A trilogy of multi-million pound deals involving the global engineering firm and two publicly …
Continue reading "Arup left staff in the dark after deal to sell its offices and relocate"
A new playing surface at a sports pitch in Fitzrovia will revitalise the public open space says a youth charity but opponents say that football is being favoured over other sports and local children's playtime at the ground is being cut. Fitzrovia Youth in Action (FYA) has taken over the management of The Warren sports pitch under a license from Camden …
Continue reading "‘FIFA approved’ 5-a-side pitch draws a crowd of supporters and opponents"
One of London's largest property developers has announced that it has bought a number of small properties on the corner of Oxford Street and Hanway Street, triggering speculation that it is planning a large scale redevelopment on the back of proposals for Crossrail 2. Derwent London acquired the buildings which are all situated above the Tottenham Court Road …
Continue reading "Developer buys Oxford Street and Hanway Street buildings in Crossrail 2 land grab"
"Someone described the area as a little oasis in Fitzrovia, and we would not want to change that. We are a property company with sensitivities. We want to get rid of the idea that we will come in and knock everything down.” -- Simon Silver of Derwent London (interview with property press, November 2009). A building …
Continue reading "Derwent London is turning a little oasis into dystopia"
Community groups in Fitzrovia have again won a share of grants offered by one of the neighbourhood's largest and most active property developers. In an announcement last week Derwent London made grants totalling £66,230 shared among six charities to deliver local community projects and raise its profile of corporate responsibility in the face of local criticism. The …
Continue reading "FTSE 250 property developer raises its profile of corporate responsibility"
Derwent London, the largest London-focused real estate investment trust (REIT), has now set out its timetable for major developments in Fitzrovia including its largest construction project to date which will see the district's most famous advertising agency leave and herald another onslaught of building work to endure. Later this year demolition and construction work will begin on 80 Charlotte Street …
Continue reading "Derwent London sets out timetable for major developments in Fitzrovia"
Fitzrovia will face more noise and disruption from construction work next year after planning permission was given to demolish three buildings on Berners Street and redevelop on the site. The neighbourhood will also lose one of its most distinctive buildings, despite objections from local residents and The Twentieth Century Society conservation group. A Westminster City Council …
Continue reading "Seifert’s Copyright House to be demolished by Derwent London"
The Twentieth Century Society has made an application to English Heritage to list a building on Berners Street saying it is among the best of architect Richard Seifert's early works. Copyright House was constructed as a purpose built office block in the late 1950s and is a rare example of the architect's work from this …
Continue reading "C20 Society propose heritage listing for Seifert’s Copyright House"
Derwent London have today announced its second round of community grants with £75,000 of funding shared between seven organisations in Fitzrovia. Three community groups have been awarded grants of approximately £15,000 each: Fitzrovia Noir for an art project, Fitzrovia Neighbourhood Association for women's health and exercise, and Upbeat Music to deliver a series of music …
Continue reading "Derwent London announces grant funding but controversy is never far away"
A modernist building designed by Richard Seifert & Partners and a neo-Georgian building by Robert Angell & Curtis could be demolished in a redevelopment on Berners Street. Derwent London intend to submit a planning application to Westminster council in April to demolish three buildings and create a single new building. Derwent held an exhibition last …
Continue reading "Richard Seifert design among buildings facing demolition on Berners Street"
The Evening Standard has got both geography and history mixed up with its article on Saatchi & Saatchi's forthcoming departure from Charlotte Street. In a feature on its business pages today Fitzrovia's most famous advertising agency is reported as about "to move east from Soho to a new landmark office on the former site of …
Continue reading "Evening Standard lost in time and space with Saatchi feature"
By News Reporters Derwent London has named the Fitzrovia community organisations who will be recipients of a package of grant aid. The announcement in August came shortly before CEO John Burns announced their interim results and described the company's timetable for delivering a number of major development projects in Fitzrovia. Fitzrovia Community Centre in Foley …
Continue reading "Derwent London names grant recipients and announces major projects timetable"
By News Reporters People living in flats at Gresse Street are suffering from extreme levels of noise and vibration from works to a neighbouring office block in Stephen Street being carried out by building contractors Balfour Beatty on behalf of Derwent London. Residents told Fitzrovia News how noise and vibration during demolition and contruction works …
By Angela Lovely Derwent London are trying very hard to make friends with people. Over the space of a few months they've gone from looking like the bad guys to trying to appear to be the good guys. They had gained planning permission from Mayor Boris Johnson to demolish and redevelop the Saatchi Block on Charlotte Street, …
By News Reporters Something must have pricked Derwent London's corporate conscience, for the real estate investment trust have announced a financial package of £250,000 towards community projects in Fitzrovia, an area where they hold a large amount of property. The announcement this week comes ahead of the start of one of their most controversial construction …
The office developer Derwent London has submitted plans to Camden Council to part-demolish and redevelop the Saatchi & Saatchi building on Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia.
