The High Court has set a date in June to consider a legal challenge led by local residents against the controversial approval of plans for a Chinese ‘super embassy’ near Tower Bridge in London.
The proposed embassy would be the largest diplomatic base in the UK
The review, to be heard in late June, will consider the claim by residents of Royal Mint Court that the government failed to consider the scheme’s security and public safety risks.
Law firm Leigh Day is representing the residents. The government failed to have the case thrown out at a preliminary hearing.
Housing secretary Steve Reed approved the plans for a 620,000 sq ft compound at the old Royal Mint in January, in what will be the largest diplomatic base in the UK.
In January, Robert Bruce, a planning lawyer at law firm Freeths, told Property Week that a legal challenge could delay the scheme by a year, but was unlikely to succeed as the planning decision had made “no obvious errors”.
Chinese officials bought Royal Mint Court, the former home of Britain’s state-owned coin producer, in May 2018 for £255m, when the move to the building was first proposed. Tower Hamlets originally rejected plans in 2022, but a new application from Chinese officials in 2024 were called in by the government and subsequently approved.
In January, Reed’s statement said all “material considerations were taken into account when making this decision”, adding that it was “final unless it is successfully challenged in court”.
He added: “The decision was in line with the recommendation of the independent Planning Inspector, who held a public inquiry into this case between 11 February and 19 February 2025.”
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