British Land to submit plans to turn £20m City car park into logistics hub later this year

British Land has said it will send in a planning application later this year for a logistics hub at a former NCP car park in the City of London.

The developer splashed out £20m two years ago for the Finsbury Square car park which it wants to turn into a last-mile logistics complex.

It has appointed architect Harris Partnership to draw up plans and has previously said the scheme could go down underground by as much as three levels with electric vans, scooters and bikes arriving to pick up parcels for delivery around the city.

British Land is planning to draw up a shortlist of bidders this autumn ahead of starting on site next year.

It has two other similar sites in the middle of London which, along with Finsbury Square, total 317,000 sq ft of space.

The firm said its future pipeline of work includes more phases at its Canada Water development, with Wates understood to have picked up a £150m deal to build a mixed-use scheme at the Printworks, as well as plans to turn the 1960s Euston Tower into a “highly sustainable innovation and lab enabled building”.

In its 2022 annual results published this morning, the firm said its near-term pipeline included 2 Finsbury Avenue, which will see a 37-storey tower, designed by Danish architect 3XN, replace the existing building.

Cantillon has been on site since last summer carrying out demolition work with British Land adding that demolition and basements works were being carried out to “maintain optionality”. Main contractor on the scheme is Sir Robert McAlpine.