Reimagining Custom House – Custom House 2024

Help shape the emerging vision for Custom House

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

Transforming Custom House to provide a new hotel, cultural offer and accessible public spaces

Custom House is a prominent well-known building with outstanding historical significance. However, the building has been gradually degrading, with the interior in poor condition, and does not meet its full potential. It also has inadequate sustainability credentials and limited public access, emphasising the requirement for a fresh and proactive approach to address these concerns.

Our vision is to create a new hotel and cultural offering that positively contributes to the local economy and can serve as an asset to the local area.

As part of this, we are aiming to create a vibrant destination that delivers for the local community and opens the site up to the Thames, with enhanced an urban realm and new food and beverage offers.

Continue reading to learn more about Custom House and our emerging vision or find out how to get involved and have your say by clicking the button below.

Our vision

A previous application was submitted for a hotel redevelopment of the site in 2020, which attracted a number of objections largely relating to heritage issues, and ultimately refused on appeal.

The new owners of the site are considering the comments and concerns raised around this previous scheme as part of a fresh and proactive approach to the building’s future.

Our vision is to deliver a new mixed-use scheme, providing a hotel, cultural offer and public spaces including enhanced urban realm and food and beverage offers.

Providing visitor accommodation through a new hotel

Opening up the site to the Thames

Sensitively conserving and enhancing the historical building

Pursuing a sustainable refurbishment

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

Inspiration

The below images show other exciting buildings and public spaces that we are looking to for inspiration as we develop our vision for the evolution of Custom House.

Hotel

CULTURAL OFFER

PUBLIC SPACES

Read the Neighbourhood Plan

Read more about the public spaces policies in the Neighbourhood Plan

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, the building has gradually suffered from degradation over its 200-year life and the recent transition from it being the headquarters of HMRC.

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 opening of the space alongside the Thames providing access and greater permeability.

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, the building has gradually suffered from degradation over its 200-year life and the recent transition from it being the headquarters of HMRC.

Existing Site Images

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, the building has gradually suffered from degradation over its 200-year life and the recent transition from it being the headquarters of HMRC.

The Heritage and History

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 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.