Council approves Fenwick department store's redevelopment

Redevelopment plans for the former Fenwick department store on Bond Street to turn it into offices, shops and a rooftop garden have been approved by Westminster Council.

In December 2022, the family-owned department store announced the sale of its famous New Bond Street location, which opened in 1891, to Lazari Investments in a deal worth around £430 million.

The transaction, which was completed last year 2023, ensured Fenwick will continue to trade from the store until 2024. The store closed earlier this year.

New owner Len Lazari told Westminster Council the existing building was not suitable for modern-day retailing, according to the BBC. He said: "Over 100 years, Fenwick's organic expansion across six buildings resulted in the department store with 37 different levels."

Its planning committee voted in favour of a plan to partially demolish and redevelop the old store. However, due to the large scale of the plans, the proposal will need approval from the mayor of London, who has previously expressed concerns about the height and design of the plans.

If the new plans go ahead, the site's lower two levels will become shops, while the second to ninth floors will become office spaces with the roof garden as the cherry on top.

Councillors showed concern regarding the scale of the development proposals but praised Lazari for planning to keep much of the historic building and façade intact. In a council planning report, officers wrote: "The proposal will provide an appropriate combination of modern retail and office accommodation that accords with the relevant London Plan and City Plan policies, and is therefore considered to be acceptable."