Park Plaza operator PPHE today ended a years-long battle to build a hotel on the site of an abandoned petrol station in London’s South Bank after it obtained planning permission from Lambeth Council. The firm, which recently completed work on a 27-story tower in Old Street, plans to construct a 15-storey building opposite Lambeth North tube station, with a 186-room hotel, two floors of office space and an all-day dining bar and cafe.
The company acquired the site for 2019 for £12.6 million using an overseas entity called North Lambeth Holding BV, Land Registry documents show. The land was previously owned by Shell-Mex and BP which operated a petrol station – but the site has been vacant for the past two decades and used as space for advertising hoardings.
PPHE first submitted plans for the site in October 2020, before producing revised plans in July 2021. Those plans were rejected last year after Lambeth’s planning committee raised concerns over the height of the building, adding the designs would “cause unacceptable harm to the balance and mix of local land uses.” But in December, PPHE demanded an appeal to the decision, which has now been overturned.
PPHE CEO Boris Ivesha said: "We are delighted to have been granted approval to execute our plans.
“This is a hugely exciting project for the group, located close to some of London's most exciting landmarks.”
The site is set to be the eleventh hotel operated by PPHE in London, which also operates the Park Plaza in Waterloo and the art’otel in Battersea Power Station. The Lambeth site is to become the third London project the firm has under development in the capital, adding to a planned hotel in Park Royal and a 179-bedroom subterranean hotel in Victoria.
PPHE’s more recent developments, including the new Old Street tower, have pivoted to exploring mixed-use projects including the possibility of office space and apartments. The company’s shares have risen by a third in the past year.
