Stanhope and Royal Mail 'revise London offices plans'

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New plans for a Royal Mail and Stanhope development have been submitted in order to help allay concerns held by Transport for London (TfL) and Westminster City Council.

The 270,000 sq ft scheme close to Paddington Station originally included 120,000 sq ft of London offices in an eight-storey building and approximately 5,000 sq ft of retail and restaurant space, CoStar UK reported.

However, as a result of worries regarding the development's construction over a complex London Underground system, Royal Mail and Stanhope have resubmitted the proposals, which were first put forward in August of last year.

One of the changes allows for a potential extension of the Bakerloo Line ticket hall, although TfL currently has no plans in the pipeline for such work, the publication explained.

Stanhope and Royal Mail have reduced the number of residential units to 129 from 141 and cut the overall office space to 96,000 sq ft. It is hoped the development will be delivered between 2013 and 2015.

Royal Mail Group has been active in the commercial property market in recent months. In autumn of last year it offloaded a 2.3-acre site to Great Portland Estates, with the land having planning permission for new West End offices.

The site lies between Newman Street and Rathbone Place and proposals were approved for a 383,435 sq ft mixed-use scheme.