Have your say

Help shape the emerging vision for Custom House

Our vision

Transforming Custom House to provide a high-quality hotel, cultural offer and new public spaces

Have your say

Welcome to our updated consultation website on the proposals to transform Custom House.

Earlier this year we held a public consultation to gather feedback from our neighbours, elected representatives and stakeholders on our vision for Custom House. Following valuable input from our consultation and ongoing meetings with the City of London Corporation we are delighted to share further details of our proposals.

We are keen to continue to engage with the local community and are asking for your feedback again ahead of submitting a planning application to the City of London Corporation.

Have your say
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Our public Benefits include:

  • Free Public Route through the building connecting Lower Thames Street to the riverside. The route passes through key historic spaces and will include permanent and changing exhibits narrating the history of Custom House.
  • New Riverside Public Space:A new public space will be accessible at all times, with steps, ramps, vibrant greenery and seating areas along the Thames.
  • Gallery & Café: A cultural café and gallery in the West Wing will be used to host small scale, free exhibitions. The space will be curated by smaller organisations through a series of residencies.
  • Free Historic Building Tours: Regular tours with bookable slots for 20 people per tour, covering key areas like the Tide Waiters Room, King’s Warehouse, Long Room, and Robing Room.
  • Events: The hotel will host small scale public events on the riverfront in partnership with wider cultural programmes and local festivals.
  • Accessible Long Room: The Long Room will be available for community or cultural groups to book free of charge for 24 half day slots (morning, afternoon or evening) annually.
  • Flexible Engagement Space: A historic room with original brick vaults available for school and community groups, talks, films, classes, and social events.
  • Tide Waiters Room: A historic room which will house a curated library with free access for academics, historians, researchers and students.

The site

The Custom House is one of the most significant buildings in the City of London.
It is a beautiful example of Regency architecture, that sits proudly on the River Thames.

However, over its 200-year life the building has gradually suffered from degradation and needs refurbishment.

Today, the building and its scenic location provide an exciting opportunity for a new high-quality hotel and cultural offering that will allow for greater enjoyment and the creation of a new public space on the north bank of the Thames providing opportunity for gathering and dwelling and improving routes along the river.

View location

The History of Custom House

The Custom House was first completed in 1817 and has stood on the site for over 200 years. The building has a unique history, having served as the hub for British custom duty collection in the 1800s.
During its life, Custom House has experienced the collapse and redesign of the Long Room and part of the river façade in 1825, the rebuilding of the East Wing in 1966 following damage suffered during the Blitz, and use as an office prior to being vacated by HMRC in 2021. This heritage has made Custom House one of the most prominent sites in the City of London.
This Grade I Heritage Listed building and its location provide a grand opportunity to sustainably maintain the history of the building.

Today, our vision for the cultural offer would give the public access to areas that they were previously unable to see. Longstanding
areas such as the Long Room, King’s Warehouse and basement vaults will be seamlessly incorporated into the vision of the hotel and extend its offering to all that pass through.

The consultation so far

We launched our first consultation in May 2024.
During this consultation we engaged with a diverse array of stakeholders such as residents, local businesses and faith groups, nearby workers and tourists.
We are keen to continue to engage with the local community and are asking your feedback again ahead of submitting a planning application to the City of London Corporation.
May Consultation Boards
Our consultation has included:
1,851

Unique visitors to the website during this consultation phase

2,105
Social media Ad click-throughs
64
People engaged at event and street stalls
106,557

Social media reach

106
Responses to the survey

Our vision

Through our consultation, we confirmed that key stakeholders and the local community were generally aligned with our emerging vision for Custom House. As a reminder our vision was:

Providing visitor accommodation through a new hotel

Opening up the site to the Thames

Pursuing a sustainable refurbishment

Sensitively conserving and enhancing the historical building

Creating a dynamic riverside public realm

Upgrading the building to reduce its environmental impact

Developing a vibrant and fitting cultural offer at Custom House

Transforming Custom House with new public spaces

In addition to this, our consultation gathered further feedback about Custom House. The word cloud below summarises this, showing what themes were most important to the people who responded.

In addition to this, our consultation gathered further feedback about Custom House. You can see what themes were most important to the people who responded below.

Hotel

There was support for the proposal to introduce a hotel, with a range of pricepoints, at Custom House.
‘Make standard hotel rooms financially accessible to a range of folk’

‘Make it a lovely hotel’ 

Riverfront public realm

When asked what features they would be keen to see as part of an improved urban realm experience around Custom House, 72% chose as their favoured option:

‘Improved access to the river and enhanced public realm along the riverfront’ 

Heritage

40% of people (the highest percentage) said opportunities for the public to engage with the site’s unique heritage was their more important consideration for the future of Custom House.

‘Lets stop the decay of this magnificent building ASAP’ 

‘Historic preservation of the building is important’ 

‘That its future, as part of our heritage will be safeguarded for years to come’

Culture and public access

80% said it was important or very important that the proposals contribute to the surrounding area and local community through new public spaces and F&B offers.

‘I would like to be able to walk around Custom House with a tour guide as if it were a museum, and ideally it would be a museum and cultural event space available for everyone to experience. I think a cultural heritage building such as this should be public for all to enjoy and not turned into a hotel for only very wealthy people to be able to visit and experience’ 

‘The Long Room, with the nearby Robing Room, would seem to be ideal exhibition spaces’

Our Proposals

Culture and Public Access

Our ambition is to transform Custom House into a welcoming and inclusive hotel with no velvet ropes. Embedding culture and public access into the building and its surroundings is integral to this ambition.

Our Cultural Strategy celebrates the history of Custom House as the centre point of London’s global trade network, it will provide public access to the building’s historical spaces, a dynamic programme of events and an inclusive and affordable offer that attracts a broad range of users.

There will be a free to access public route through the main entrance lobby on Lower Thames Street to the riverside that passes through the key historic spaces of Custom House featuring permanent and changing exhibits and artworks.

On the riverfront, there will be new steps and ramps leading to the building which are designed to encourage visitors to enter the building as well as providing areas to sit and view the river. The landscape design will also feature integrated permanent seating, planting, public art and infrastructure for events. Read more about our plans for the riverfront in the sections below.

Our cultural principles:

Celebrate the history of Custom House as a centre point of global trade

Provide public access to key spaces within Custom House

Provide an inclusive and affordable offer that attracts diverse populations

Provide a dynamic programme of events

Create educational opportunities through internal displays & exhibitions

Complement the proposed hotel use

  • Public route. The public route through the building passes through three of the key historic spaces of Custom House which will feature permanent and changing exhibits and artworks.
  • Heritage Curator. The hotel will appoint a specialist heritage curator to work closely with a heritage partner, such as an existing museum of maritime history, to curate and create permanent exhibits.
  • Free Flexible space. Creation of a new, free engagement space housed in a historic room distinguished by its original brick-vaults. It will be a flexible space that can accommodate a school group of up to 30 students and 40-persons standing which can be used for talks, films, classes and social events.
  • 4 Gallery spaces & cafe. A café/gallery will be located in a series of historic rooms with views to the river. The rooms will display ‘family friendly’ artefacts and artworks related to Custom House and its riverside location. There will be four gallery spaces connected to each other.
  • Free Tours. Free tours of the building will be bookable with 20 bookable slots per tour. Tours will take place weekly and will include the quayside, the Portico, King’s Warehouse and Lobby, the Long Room and Robing Room.
  • Open Days. At least twice a year, the hotel will participate in cultural programmes (such as Open House Festival, the London Festival of Architecture) that promote open access to special/unique buildings.
  • Long Room. The Long Room is primarily for hotel use, but can be rented for use. The public will be able to visit the Long Room as part of the free heritage tour of the building. There will also be 24 booking slots per year where the Long Room will be available to be booked by community or cultural groups free of charge.
Historic vaults which will house the proposed flexible engagement space
Historic vaults which will house the proposed flexible engagement space
The proposed engagement space. The space will be free to book for schools, community organisations, resident groups, charities, arts/cultural/educational organisations.
The proposed engagement space. The space will be free to book for schools, community organisations, resident groups, charities, arts/cultural/educational organisations.
CGI showing entrance from the riverside to the historic King’s Warehouse
Precedent image showing gallery and cafe space
Precedent image showing gallery and cafe space
The Tide Waiters Room will house a curated reference library accessible by the public.
The Tide Waiters Room will house a curated reference library accessible by the public.
Gallery spaces in the west wing will host exhibition curated by a series of residencies.
Gallery spaces in the west wing will host exhibition curated by a series of residencies.
A display of historic images will uncover the history of Custom House in the Lobby.
A display of historic images will uncover the history of Custom House in the Lobby.

Riverfront public realm

In the first consultation 72% of people who engaged with us wanted improved access to the river and an enhanced public realm along the riverfront with more active public spaces, such as seating areas. Our proposals include:
Enhanced Access & Public Spaces
  • Improved River Access: New steps and ramps will lead to the building, making it easier to enter and offering great spots to sit and enjoy the river.
  • Vibrant Public Space: A new, spacious public area will stretch along the Thames, hosting free events including performances and food markets throughout the year. Events will be organised by the hotel team in collaboration with cultural partners and local festivals.
Upgraded Riverfront Design
  • Reimagined Public Realm: The riverfront will feature lush greenery and open, relaxing spots with a range of seating options, planting and public art with views to the River Thames and Tower Bridge.
  • Inclusive Food & Drink: In response to feedback from 80% of survey respondents, there will be a variety of food and beverage options both within and outside on the terrace of the building with seating in both areas.
Open & Accessible
  • 24/7 Public Access: The quayside will be open to everyone around the clock, with hotel security supporting a safe and welcoming environment.
  • New Access Points: A new ramp and wider steps will provide easy access from Old Billingsgate Market and enhance the walking route along the river.
Indicative image of the riverfront public realm.
Indicative image of the riverfront public realm.
Greenwich & Docklands International Festival. Example of the type of cultural programming on the quayside.
Illustration showing the quayside public realm with paving features recording the site’s history.

Hotel 

As the focus of our proposals are on a sensitive hotel-led refurbishment, respect for the building’s history, design and significance are of the utmost importance. The cultural strategy feeds into the design of the hotel where guests can enjoy this offer within the privacy of their rooms.
Hotel rooms will be located in the East and West Wings of the building. The introduction of the hotel use will look to mimic the historic plans and prioritise conservation of the building’s heritage, with rooms in the historic West Wing carefully designed to retain the existing layouts.

As part of the hotel, the basement will be utilised to provide a spa and health centre that will be open to the public. A swimming pool, sauna and steam room will be built and complemented by the original architecture of the building.

Indicative image of a typical West Wing bedroom suite
Proposed East Wing breakout space with river view 
Indicative image showing proposed swimming pool 
Indicative image showing proposed swimming pool 

Heritage

The sensitive refurbishment of the building will celebrate Custom House’s heritage with significant investment into the Long Room. This is central to creating Custom House’s ‘golden thread’ which weaves through all areas of the building allowing the public to truly explore its heritage.
The historic Long Room will be hireable by outside parties for events, free to book for community or cultural groups for 24 half day slots per year. As part of the Long Room’s offer, heritage tours for the public will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the history of Custom House. Alongside the unique historic setting, this new event space will also have panoramic views of the River Thames.
The historic Long Room

The historic Long Room

A CGI of what the Long Room is proposed to look like when being used as an event space.

Indicative image of the Long Room being used as an event space

Indicative images of the Long Room as proposed, including in use as an event space (Credit: RGA)
Indicative images of the Long Room as proposed, including in use as an event space (Credit: RGA)

Indicative images of the Long Room as proposed, including in use as an event space (Credit: RGA)

The building is divided into three blocks, West, Central and East. In Sir Robert Smirke’s reworking of the building, a direct route was established from the river and the city to the central king’s warehouse, a secure space for seized goods, cutting through the centre of the building. In addition to this an east-west connected each of the ranges internally, that were previously disconnected.
The majority of the building’s significance lies in the west and central ranges. The west wing is the oldest part of the building, as built by David Laing. When the centre block containing the Long Room collapsed, it was rebuilt in 1825. The east wing was bombed in the blitz and subsequently rebuilt in 1966.

Have your say

Public Exhibition 1

  • Thursday 17th October
  • 11am – 3pm
  • Custom House, Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6DL - Access via Lower Thames Street
October Consultation Boards

Public Exhibition 2

  • Monday 21st October
  • 3pm – 7pm
  • Custom House, Lower Thames St, London EC3R 6DL - Access via Lower Thames Street
October Consultation Boards

Online Survey

Let us know your thoughts by completing our online survey. Our survey will close on 30th October 2024, so please provide your feedback by this date.
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