DCMS refuses to grant five-year immunity certificate for former Greater London Authority base

Foster & Partners鈥� City Hall building, which served as the headquarters for the mayor of London for almost 20 years, could soon get listed status, it has emerged.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has declined a request for a 鈥渃ertificate of immunity from listing鈥� 鈥� or COI 鈥� made on behalf the building鈥檚 owners, which could have offered a window for radical redevelopment of the structure, or even demolition. The 拢50m building was completed by Mace 20 years ago.

Current London Mayor Sadiq Khan relocated the Greater London Authority and London Assembly to Wilkinson Eyre鈥檚 The Crystal building earlier this year as part of a bid to save the capital 拢61m in rent over the next five years.

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The helical walkway inside Foster & Partners鈥� City Hall building

Campaign group the Twentieth Century Society placed Fosters鈥� City Hall on its buildings at risk list when the prospect of Khan and the GLA relocating operations became a firm prospect. However it was unsuccessful in getting listed status for the building last year.

It welcomed culture secretary Nadine Dorries鈥� decision not to grant building owners St Martins Property Group the COI it sought earlier this year for the structure, which was described by former London Mayor Ken Livingstone as a 鈥済lass testicle鈥�.

The group stressed it was not opposed to a new use being sought for the building, which was strongly informed by Foster鈥檚 previous renovation and adaptation of the Reichstag in Berlin.

It said Foster & Partners鈥� support for the granting of a COI for the building had been 鈥渟urprising鈥�, even though the practice declared its attachment to the structure.

鈥淐20 Society would stress that listing of the building would not prevent it from having a new use, with the 鈥榮ympathetic adaptions鈥� and 鈥榮ensitive interventions鈥� Foster & Partners reference still achievable within a building of significant architectural and heritage value,鈥� it said.

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Wilkinson Eyre鈥檚 The Crystal building at the Royal Docks, which has been transformed into the Greater London Authority鈥檚 new City Hall

The former City Hall鈥檚 interior features a helical walkway which spirals up the full 10-storey height of the building. The structure also houses an assembly chamber, committee rooms, offices for the mayor, assembly members and support staff.

A publicly accessible space at the highest point of the building known as 鈥淟ondon鈥檚 Living Room鈥� was never fully opened as intended following a review of security in the wake of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, although it was used as private events space.