Costs incurred moving HQ to Union Street
Case reference FOI2025/00047
Received 15 January 2025
Published 19 May 2025
Request
My request is about the period since the Brigade vacated 8 Albert Embankment in 2007. It is not about costs involved in maintaining or running Lambeth fire station.
1) Please confirm the total amount paid in rent for the Union Street HQ building since it was occupied in 2008 to the present day
2) Please confirm the total amount spent in mothballing or maintaining the old HQ at 8 Albert Embankment from 2007 to the present
3) Please specify if the Brigade incurred any costs in the development for the two planning applications that failed for 8 Albert Embankment. (I understand that the developer bears the cost of a planning application)
Response
Please see our response to each of your requests in turn below:
1) Please confirm the total amount paid in rent for the Union Street HQ building since it was occupied in 2008 to the present day
The LFB moved into 169 Union Street, SE1 0LL (LFB headquarters) in 2008 however, the LFB do not retain financial transactional data for more than six years. The known rent costs pertaining to the current lease agreement, which commenced in 2010 for the 2010/11 financial year to December 2024 is £55,830,925. LFB continue to offset the rental costs of 169 Union Street, SE1 0LL by various tenant occupations.
2) Please confirm the total amount spent in mothballing or maintaining the old HQ at 8 Albert Embankment from 2007 to the present
The LFB do not hold this information as maintenance, and other running costs of the 8 Albert Embankment front site include Lambeth fire station, which is an operational fire station.
3) Please specify if the Brigade incurred any costs in the development for the two planning applications that failed for 8 Albert Embankment. (I understand that the developer bears the cost of a planning application).
LFB do not retain financial transactional data for more than six years and, therefore, the LFB costs for the Native Land scheme cannot be confirmed. The cost to LFB over the eight years of the U+I scheme, which aimed to deliver the Development Agreement, was £811k in respect of estates professional services from 2016 – 2021 (separate to any planning costs met by U&I as appointed developer). Since 2021 the cost of the appeal to the Secretary of State decision and any associated work was covered by U+I.
Documents
This is London Fire Brigade's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.