Public consultation on the future of Haymarket House

An exciting update at the heart of Piccadilly, supporting the visitor economy

West End (London) Property Ltd, managed by Criterion Capital, are bringing forward proposals to reinvigorate the existing underutilised building and bring it back to life.

The existing building at Haymarket House, SW1Y 4SP, was most recently used as an office and is now vacant. It has consent for a hotel conversion from 2020 and for an extension to provide additional office space from 2022. These proposals seek to convert and extend the existing underutilised building, following the same massing as the existing 2022 consent, to provide an approximately 500-rooms hotel in Piccadilly. This will be achieved via two planning applications. The first application, which we consulted for and submitted earlier this year (REF: 24/01536/FULL), will amend the 2020 consent for the hotel conversion to incorporate more rooms, which would deliver more spending in the local economy. The second application that we are consulting for now would seek to extend the building to the same extent that was consented in 2022 and would also be in hotel use, delivering further benefits to the local economy.

The proposals will respond to local needs and support the demand for affordable visitor accommodation. Our vision follows a sensitive design approach to improve on the quality of the ground floor frontage and provide sustainability and biodiversity improvements.

Before submitting our plans for the extension application to Westminster City Council, we would like to share our proposals with the local community and gather your feedback. On this public consultation website, you will see our plans, as well as details on how to provide your feedback.

The existing building

Haymarket House is located at 28-29 Haymarket, within the Haymarket Conservation Area. In 2020, planning permission was granted for a hotel conversion.

There is also an existing consent to extend the building for office use which was granted in 2022. The owner of the building will be following the existing consents for the building with two planning applications. The first application, which we consulted for and
submitted earlier this year (REF: 24/01536/FULL), will amend the 2020 consent for the hotel conversion to incorporate more rooms, which would deliver more spending in the local economy.
The second application that we are consulting for now would seek to extend the building to the same extent that was consented in 2022 and would also be in hotel use, delivering further benefits to the local economy.

View of Haymarket House from the corner of Coventry Street and Rupert Street

Our Proposals

Our vision will bring Haymarket House back to life.

1

Conversion and extension of the building to expand on the consented hotel

2

Securing the long-term future of the under-utilised building

3

Providing economic benefits and boosting visitor economy by responding to local needs

4

Sensitive design with an improvement in the quality of the existing ground floor frontage

5

Respect the local community by minimising disruption to residents and providing improved refuse and servicing provisions

6

Sustainability improvements

Providing economic benefits and boosting visitor economy by responding to local needs

This proposal will meet the needs of the area, providing high-quality affordable visitor accommodation to support the visitor economy. The existing building is an underutilised office building that is now sitting vacant. The long-term future of the existing building will be secured by providing a use that is in demand in the area, this will refresh and renew an important building within the Haymarket conservation area and which will contribute additional vibrancy and activity of the surrounding area.

The area’s thriving business population has long associations with the area. The London Plan recognises the importance of provision of new accommodation to meet the demands of tourists, estimating that London will need to build 58,000 bedrooms of serviced accommodation by 2041. There is particular demand for affordable hotel rooms in the area.

Sensitive design with an improvement in the quality of the existing ground floor frontage

The proposals will be bringing this tired-looking building back to life with an exciting use to support the local demand. There will be an improvement in the quality of existing ground floor frontage by bringing forward ground floor remodelling of the Haymarket entrance to the building and the Haymarket ground floor frontage.

Respect the local community by minimising disruption to residents and providing improved refuse and servicing provisions

The development will minimise disruption to local residents, ensuring deliveries by goods vehicles are made in a safe and convenient manner to minimise the impact on freight traffic across central London. Servicing will generally be 1-2 trips per day, which is similar to the consented scheme.

The refuse provision will be improved by enlarging and reconfiguring the existing refuse provision at basement level and providing temporary storage space within the building to accommodate bins directly before collection.