‘Like a rogue builder’: Inside the long-delayed City Hall relocation to the Crystal
Sadiq Khan’s decision to move City Hall to the Royal Docks was always going to be a tough sell for Greater London Authority (GLA) staff used to the metropolitan surrounds of Southwark and a public largely apathetic toward local politics. The abject difficulties in renovating the Crystal, and the concomitant delays, have made this task near impossible.
For those who work at City Hall, the verdict appears to be in – Khan’s cash saving plan to move to the Crystal has been canned as a disaster by people across the political divide, with many of the mayor’s own staff disgruntled. There are also rumblings across City Hall that the six-month delay in getting the Crystal ready for a full move has eaten up a good chunk of the proposed £61m it will save from reduced rental costs.
City PM understands senior members of Khan’s team, including several deputy mayors, have expressed serious concerns about the move since it was announced. Their concerns were largely around the touted savings from the relocation not being worth the hassle of the move and the poor optics of moving the mayor’s office away from a conspicuous central London location.
Many civil servants working in the mayor’s office are also unhappy about the relocation. One described the Crystal and the area around it as “soulless”, while another said it was “barren”.
The City Hall relocation has now been delayed four times amid problems with renovations, after the mayor’s office originally predicted the full move would be completed by October 2021. The Crystal is still only able to host a fraction of public Greater London Authority meetings, with assembly members forced to shuttle between temporary Southwark offices in Union Street and the Royal Docks.
This is finally set to change from next Monday, after City Hall staff were told today that the move will finally happen on 21 March.
Khan announced the City Hall relocation in June 2020, with the London mayor saying it would save £61m over five years due to reduced rental costs. This was particularly salient during Covid, when City Hall revenues had plummeted and Khan was forced to project swingeing budget cuts. The former home to City Hall, the iconic slanted thimble of a building in Southwark, had also become too small for all staff members to have a permanent desk.
Members of the London Assembly from across the political divide have privately and publicly expressed dismay about the move. One London Assembly source said they had “not spoken to one person who had a positive thing to say about it”, while also complaining about the opaque way in which Khan’s office has dealt with the move.
Peter Fortune, Conservative London Assembly member, said: “Speaking to the mayor’s office is like talking to a rogue builder – they suck through their teeth and say ‘there’s a problem here and a problem there and that I’ll have to get my brother-in-law to look at it’.
“It feels like we’re always shuffling between two sites – the half-finished Crystal and then back to Union Street for the committees. It limits your powers to scrutinise the mayor and I don’t think that’s good enough.”
There are also concerns that savings from the move will not be as substantial as first touted, thanks to the extra costs incurred in paying contractors and storing equipment for six months longer than originally planned. The GLA’s Oversight Committee is now asking the mayor’s office for all documents relating to cost overruns to assess the true financial impact of the move.
Liberal Democrat London Assembly member, and Oversight Committee chair, late last year told Khan he needed to come clean on “the real costs resulting from his decision” and to clearly state how much was actually saved by relocating to the Crystal.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London, said: “The mayor and his team are looking forward to moving into the new City Hall and ushering in a new era for the GLA in East London.
“Not only will this relocation act as a springboard for the regeneration of the Royal Docks, it will also save the GLA Group £61m over five years which will be used by the mayor to protect frontline services.”