China has resurrected a controversial plan to erect a “super-embassy” in the heart of London.
Beijing had its approach to build the megastructure – on the site of what used to be the Royal Mint – rebuffed in 2022 by Tower Hamlets Council, but has revived its big idea just weeks after Labour’s July 5 election victory.
Back then, Chinese planners had slated the council’s rejection as being “without merit” and having “no basis in planning policy” – but the country has brought the original schematics back to the table in a bid to change officials’ minds.
The plans with which it is pushing ahead are the same as the ones originally submitted, but the two-year gap between their rejection and revival has sparked speculation Xi Jinping’s men waited for the arrival of a Labour Government to have another go.
China’s planned new “super-embassy” would sit on the doorstep of the Tower of London
CBRE/Google/Wikimedia Commons
Their approach may not be without merit – the Starmer Government has already pushed for international relations resets with France and Europe as a whole, while Foreign Secretary David Lammy has pledged to carry out a “full audit” of UK-China ties.
China had accused the former Tory Government of not meeting diplomatic obligations when the plans were first rejected, despite the embassy’s construction being a council matter, so another rebuttal could see Lammy’s reset plans come under pressure within weeks of taking on the job.
Ex-Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “China doesn’t do anything by coincidence. China are now going to try it on with the Labour government, to see if it can be persuaded into giving them the embassy it wants.
“If [China] wants an embassy it should be away from the main part of the city, as the US has done and others are doing.”
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The new site (pictured) would dwarf the country’s existing setup in Marylebone
CBRE
The “super-embassy”, which would overlook the Tower of London and sit within striking distance of London’s business hubs in the City and Canary Wharf, would sprawl over 620,000 square feet, and include hundreds of offices, homes and a “cultural exchange” outpost.
The Royal Mint site – already owned by the Chinese government – sits some three miles east of Westminster, and would dwarf the country’s existing setup in Marylebone, in the capital’s west.
Ex-Tory MP Tobias Ellwood said: “There is no justification for any embassy to jump in size ten-fold unless they were attempting to expand competences well beyond the norms of routine diplomacy, which no doubt would include clandestine activity.”
The plans have come under fire from locals, too. Tower Hamlets Council fielded more than 50 objections to China’s initial plan, which cited concerns over safety, security and potential protests at the embassy’s gates.
Tower Hamlets Council fielded more than 50 objections to China’s initial plan
Reuters
And residents’ concerns appear not without merit – in 2022, pro-democracy protesters outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester were publicly beaten by a gang of men who appeared to have come from inside the building.
That incident was on the minds of some Tower Hamlets locals, who raised fears over the prospect of the “super-embassy” serving as a “secret police station” for Chinese authorities.
A Tower Hamlets Council spokesman said: “A new planning and listed building consent application has been submitted to develop an embassy on the site of Royal Mint Court.
“The planning team are reviewing the application and public consultation has commenced. At this stage we do not have a target committee date.”
Source Agencies
