One of the UK’s top planning lawyers has said it would be “unlawful” for the government to grant planning permission for a Chinese “mega embassy” near the Tower of London.
The opinion, from Lord Banner KC, was submitted to the government on Monday, just ahead of the final deadline for those opposed to the scheme to have their say.
Opponents are stepping up their fight against China’s plan to turn the historic former home of the Royal Mint into the largest embassy of any country in Europe.
Residents of flats forming part of the Royal Mint estate commissioned the legal document in a bid to derail the scheme, as they fear China, which is now their landlord, will ultimately force them to leave their homes.
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One of the most contentious aspects of the planning application has been that sections have been “greyed out” by China, with the intended use of the rooms in question obscured.
In August, Rayner had written to the Chinese side demanding they “explain the rationale and justification for each of the redactions”.
Hong Kong dissidents, and other Chinese pro-democracy activists living in the UK, have expressed fears that these rooms could be used to hold and interrogate opponents of China’s Communist regime.
China’s response, given by planning consultants working on its behalf, was to clarify the use of some rooms, but to decline to do so for others saying, “the internal functional layout for embassy projects is different from other projects”.
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