LONDON (Reuters) – China’s plans for a new large embassy in London were rejected by local officials on Monday on the grounds it could pose a security risk to nearby residents, putting pressure on the national government to reject the planning application.
The Chinese government purchased Royal Mint Court, a historic site near the Tower of London six years ago, but has so far failed to gain planning permission to build a new embassy there.
China hoped to build a roughly 700,000-square-foot embassy, which would be China’s biggest mission in Europe and almost twice the size of its one in Washington.
The central government said in October it would make the final decision about whether to approve the contested application, but the views of local residents and council will be considered at a planning inquiry early next year.
Politicians in Tower Hamlets district unanimously voted against the plans on Monday although the final decision on whether to approve the building application will rest with the central government.
Chinese officials have repeatedly expressed frustration to the British government over its failure to help secure planning permission at official-level meetings, people involved in those talks have told Reuters, complicating efforts to improve ties.
A planning inquiry to decide whether to approve the embassy is due to take place over eight days next year with a decision made at the latest by May.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said last month that he had asked ministers to examine the plans submitted by China after President Xi Jinping raised the matter with him.
The Labour government, in office since July, has made improving ties with China one of its main foreign policy goals after a period under successive Conservative governments when relations plunged to their lowest in decades.
Under Starmer, the government has pursued a friendlier approach hoping that an improvement in relations could yield some economic benefits.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Alistair Bell)
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