| Millbank Tower | |
|---|---|
 Millbank Tower | |
 | |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in theUnited Kingdom from 1963 to 1964[I] | |
| Preceded by | CIS Tower |
| Surpassed by | BT Tower |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Type | Office |
| Location | Westminster London,SW1 United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°29′32.0″N0°07′33.5″W / 51.492222°N 0.125972°W /51.492222; -0.125972 |
| Completed | 1963 |
| Owner | David and Simon Reuben |
| Height | |
| Roof | 118 metres (387 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Lifts/elevators | 11: 4 × low rise Otis 411 Elevonics 5 × high rise Otis 411 Elevonics 1 × Otis 411 fire/goods all floors 1 × Otis 10UCL Ground to Basement Goods |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Official name | Millbank Tower |
| Designated | 24 November 1995 |
| Reference no. | 1242617 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Ronald Ward & Partners |
| Main contractor | John Mowlem & Co. |
Millbank Tower is a 119-metre-high (390 ft)skyscraper in theCity of Westminster atMillbank, by theRiver Thames inLondon, England. The tower was constructed in 1963, and has been home to many high-profile political organisations, including theLabour andConservative parties, and theUnited Nations.
The tower was constructed in 1963 forVickers and was therefore originally known asVickers House or theVickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built byJohn Mowlem & Co.[1] It is a landmark on the London skyline, standing beside the River Thames, half a mile upstream from thePalace of Westminster. The tower has been owned byDavid and Simon Reuben since 2002,[2] while still being managed by its former ownerTishman Speyer Properties. It is a Grade IIlisted building. Until theBT Tower's completion in 1964, Millbank Tower was the tallest building in the United Kingdom. The 2003 edition of thePevsner architectural guide says that the Millbank Tower is "one of the few London office towers to have won affection", and contrasts it with the "boxy structure" of theShell Tower atWaterloo.
In 2010, the building was surrounded and occupied by thousands of student protesters who spontaneously branched off from a demonstration called by theNational Union of Students, which was campaigning against theCoalition government's increase of tuition fees; Millbank was the location ofConservative Campaign Headquarters at the time. The demonstration and occupation helped spawnfurther student protests that year.[3]
The Millbank Tower has been home to many high-profile political and other organisations. From 1994 to 2002 theLabour Party rented two floors in the base at the south of the site, for use as a general election campaign centre. Labour ran its1997 General Election campaign from these offices; after the election, the party vacated its headquarters atJohn Smith House,Walworth Road SE17, to move to Millbank. Five years later, the £1 million per annum rent forced the party to vacate the tower and take out a mortgage of £5.5 million to relocate to 16–18 Old Queen Street, overlookingSt James's Park, which had 11,200 square feet of open plan premises.[4]
TheUnited Nations also had offices in the tower, but moved out in June 2003, also citing high rents. Other public bodies have continued to occupy the building, including theCentral Statistical Office, the predecessor of theOffice for National Statistics; theParliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman; the Local Government Ombudsman; theUK India Business Council; and theMinistry of Justice Records Management Service.[5]
Between 2006 and 2014, theConservative Party based itscampaign headquarters at 30 Millbank, in the same complex as Millbank Tower.
Other floors in the tower are or have been occupied by organisations and commercial companies, including theEnvironment Agency, theWorld Bank (which moved out in early 2022),[6]Altitude 360 London, foreign exchange specialists World First, theSpecialist Schools and Academies Trust, theUK India Business Council, the London office ofMedopad,Canonical Ltd, theAudit Commission, event caterers Salt and Pepper, Private Food Design, the firm Lewis PR, the London office of theOpen Society Foundations, theLocal Government Boundary Commission for England,XLN Telecom andLeave.EU.
The building also housed the studios forRT UK prior to its closure in 2022.
From April 2018, the office of the now-defunctPeople's Vote campaign was based in the tower.[7]
In April 2016, the Reuben brothers were granted permission byWestminster City Council to redevelop the building, notwithstanding its Grade II Listed status.[8][9] The resulting development will comprise 207 high-end apartments, a 5-star hotel with 150 rooms, a gym, spa and swimming pool, and a new cultural centre. The redevelopment, which includes a plan for an additional three storeys on the main tower is set to break ground in 2024 once the existing tenancies cease.[10]
…despite the scheme proposing the demolition of a Grade II listed building – considered a gem of modernist architecture.
| Records | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Tallest Building in the United Kingdom 1963—1967 118m | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Tallest building in London 1963—1967 118m | Succeeded by |