Lloyds Bank offices by Thames to be bulldozed

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Former Lloyds Bank offices by the River Thames will be bulldozed to make way for an 11-storey tower.

Proposals to replace the building, constructed in 1989, with a new block containing workspace, restaurants and shops, were approved by Southwark councillors at a planning meeting yesterday.

Living Bankside, a charity which helps people in the Borough and Bankside area, is in discussions with developer Landsec to move into the new offices, which are expected to open at the end of 2027.

Lloyds Bank left the current offices in 2021, and the building has since been occupied by Aspire Via Studio, a charity which sources artist studios and event spaces.

Residents said they feared the development would create extra nuisance in an area already surrounded by construction work.

Ida Forster, chairwoman of Bankside Village tenants’ and residents’ association, which represents more than 650 people on the Park Street estate in Borough and in neighbouring streets, said she was worried about pollution from the construction work.

She said: “The area that I live in, we’ve been surrounded by development, we’ve got the FT [old Financial Times building] development going on at the moment, the Bankside Yards development has only just finished, so we’re surrounded by construction.

“Development rather than refurbishment in this instance results in greater CO2 emissions.

“If you can imagine what our homes are like surrounded by demolition all the time, we’ve got a constant film of dust on all our surfaces.

“I’m really worried about me and my family and the residents I represent breathing that in all the time.”

Kiran Pawar, representing developer Landsec, said residents would have a community liaison officer available to contact about any concerns and said residents would be notified in advance of noisy building work.

He added: “We shall replace a tired and dated office building with a best-in-class riverfront workplace. Our proposals will deliver a wide range of benefits for the local community and significantly transform the public realm in the local area.

“We’re proposing a building fit for the 21st century which meets and exceeds policy requirements for sustainability and energy efficiency and one that will provide exceptional workspace for many generations to come.”

Councillors approved the development by a vote of five to one at the meeting.

Pictured top: Old Lloyds Bank offices as they look today (Picture: Southwark council planning documents)