{"id":28712,"date":"2025-01-27T12:22:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T11:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712"},"modified":"2025-02-11T11:06:53","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:06:53","slug":"big-trouble-at-hamlets-towers-as-the-chinese-do-not-come-to-town","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712","title":{"rendered":"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town!"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2022, Tower Hamlets councillors rejected a planning application for a new Chinese Embassy. The Chinese government decided not to appeal this decision, which stopped the project. This meant that Michael Gove, the communities secretary at the time, never had to make a ruling on it. London mayor Sadiq Khan also chose not to get involved, even though there were concerns about protests, security, and potential damage to the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site at Tower Bridge.<\/p>\n

Protesters and local politicians opposed the new embassy because of China’s treatment of the Uyghur people, who are mostly Muslim. Architect, not circus owner, David Chipperfield, was criticised for taking on the project. Tower Hamlets has the highest Muslim population of any local authority in England and Wales, at 39.9%.<\/p>\n

The Chinese Embassy now argues that the reasons Tower Hamlets gave for rejecting the plans in December 2022 were not valid and did not follow planning policy, and are asking for the plans to be reconsidered.<\/p>\n

Chipperfield’s plans include refurbishing the Grade II* listed Johnson Smirke Building at the former Royal Mint site to be used as embassy space. There would be a public square in front of it, behind the site’s gated entrance. The project also involves restoring and updating the Grade II listed Seaman\u2019s Register, which was developed in the 1980s. A new Embassy House would be created by splitting and remodelling the conjoined Murray and Dexter House, designed by Sheppard Robson.<\/p>\n

Dexter House, the longer building, would have flats for embassy staff, and its fa\u00e7ade would be changed to create a calmer and more unified look with the surrounding buildings. Murray House would be turned into a new seven-storey Cultural Exchange building, clad in green ceramic.<\/p>\n

A UK Government spokesperson said that national security is the government\u2019s top priority and noted the importance of all countries having functional diplomatic premises in each other\u2019s capitals. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, along with the Home Office, submitted written statements reflecting these concerns. A final decision on the project will be made by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, who, hopefully, will act independently and fairly.<\/p>\n

\u00a9www.PropertySurveying.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In December 2022, Tower Hamlets councillors rejected a planning application for a new Chinese Embassy. The Chinese government decided not to appeal this decision, which stopped the project. This meant that Michael Gove, the communities secretary at the time, never had to make a ruling on it. London mayor Sadiq Khan also chose not to … Continue reading “Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28739,"parent":22325,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[560],"class_list":["post-28712","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nBig trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-02-11T10:06:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/London-bridge.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712\",\"name\":\"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/London-bridge.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-27T11:22:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-11T10:06:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/London-bridge.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/London-bridge.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":280,\"caption\":\"Chinese Embassy planning appeal\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=28712#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Regulations & Planning\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?page_id=22325\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\",\"name\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"description\":\"The NEWSLETTER\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png\",\"width\":240,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\\\/newsletter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/PropertySurveying\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","description":"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","og_description":"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712","og_site_name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying","article_modified_time":"2025-02-11T10:06:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":280,"url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/London-bridge.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712","name":"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town! - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/London-bridge.jpg","datePublished":"2025-01-27T11:22:54+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-11T10:06:53+00:00","description":"In December 2022, Tower Hamlets planners rejected a new Chinese embassy in London, which is now being appealed.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/London-bridge.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/London-bridge.jpg","width":1200,"height":280,"caption":"Chinese Embassy planning appeal"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=28712#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Regulations & Planning","item":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=22325"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Big trouble at Hamlets Towers as the Chinese do not come to town!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/","name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","description":"The NEWSLETTER","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#organization","name":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/cropped-property-surveying-logo-for-newsletter-body-1.png","width":240,"height":50,"caption":"Property Surveying NEWSLETTER"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PropertySurveying"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28712\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ffolder&post=28712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}