London Council Rejects China’s New Embassy Plan Again

An exterior view of the proposed site for the new Chinese embassy, near Tower Bridge in London on June 23, 2023. Hannah McKay/Reuters

London’s Tower Hamlets council rejected Beijing’s plan for a large new embassy for a second time, putting pressure on Westminster to deny the application.

On Monday, local councilors on the borough’s Strategic Development Committee voted unanimously to reject the planning application, citing concerns over protest-related issues such as traffic congestion, impact on local tourism, and policing.

In 2022, the council rejected an identical plan to turn the site of the Royal Mint Court, a historic venue just a short walk from Tower Bridge, into the largest Chinese embassy in Europe. However, the decision on the new application ultimately rests with the UK’s central government, which took over the application following Beijing’s request.

The Chinese regime bought the site in 2018 for 255 million pounds ($326 million), with plans to turn it into a roughly 700,000-square-foot embassy. It would be 10 times the size of China’s current embassy at London’s Portland Place and nearly twice the size of the Chinese Embassy in Washington.

According to the plan, the site, which has been vacant since 2013, will be partly renovated and partly re-built into a complex consisting of a main embassy building, a visa center, a “cultural exchange building,” and 225 flats for embassy personnel and visitors.

Before the vote on Monday, councilors heard that the council had received 246 submissions in support of the application, including local signatures collected via a “door-knocking” campaign, as well as 273 letters and two petitions in objection.

Speaking for the Metropolitan Police, Chief Inspector David Hodges told councilors that the force is objecting to the planning application as the plan will bring “unique challenges” that the Met is not set up to deal with effectively.

The site is located at “a major arterial junction where any demonstration would have a serious and significant effect to not only the local area but also wider London,” including a nearby hospital and residential area,” Hodges said.

“The new prominent location is likely to make it more appealing to protesters,” he said, raising concerns over potential disturbance to traffic if protests spill onto the road.

Hodges also said the Tower Hamlets’ policing model isn’t set up to deal with the challenge, “unlike other boroughs where the majority of diplomatic missions are located.”

An earlier submission from the Met said 47 protests were held or to be held outside the current embassy in 2023 and 2024, many of which had more than 100 attendees.

Previous Rejection

Councilors previously rejected the plan in December 2022 despite planning officers’ recommendation to approve it, citing “concerns over the impact on resident and tourist safety, heritage, police resources, and the congested nature of the area.”

The rejection followed a series of protests and incidents involving Chinese diplomatic sites, leading to local concerns.

Hongkongers holding a rally outside the Chinese Consulate in Manchester were attacked, with one being dragged into the consulate and beaten by the staff on Oct. 16, 2022.

Screenshot from video showing a police officer trying to rescue a Hong Kong protester who was being beaten at the Chinese consulate in Manchester, England, on Oct. 16, 2022. Screenshot/Hong Kong Indigenous Defence Force via The Epoch Times

During the consultation process, locals objecting to the plan had said they were concerned about the embassy’s potential impact on local heritage sites and local communities and that the massive compound could be used as a “secret police station.“

After failing to submit an appeal on time in 2023 and blaming the Conservative government for not intervening before the deadline, the Chinese embassy launched a new bid for the plan in July, just 10 days after the Labor Party came to power. It argued that the council’s previous rejection was “without merit and have no basis in planning policy.”

On Oct. 14, the government called for planning permission on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister and Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, who has the power to do so in certain circumstances, including when projects could have national significance or affect the interests of national security or foreign governments.

According to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the government had intervened in the matter following a request from Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The Tower Hamlets Council’s voting result will be submitted to Rayner. An eight-day planning inquiry is scheduled to begin on Jan. 28, 2025, and a decision will be due on May 12.

Following Monday’s voting, Shadow Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick wrote on X, “If Rayner approves the new Chinese Embassy (massive spy hub) under pressure from Xi Jinping, it will serve as a monument to national enfeeblement under Labour.”

In an email to The Epoch Times, the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government said it’s not appropriate to comment while the case is being processed.

Last month, Foreign Office minister Anneliese Dodds told members of parliament that it’s “standard for applications to be called in if they affect other governments” and that the call-in “should not be taken as any indication of our views on the merits of the scheme.”