Here’s a headache for incoming News International CEO Rebekah Wade: the London borough of Tower Hamlets, home the company’s sprawling Wapping complex, has rejected plans to redevelop the site because of detrimental effects on a grade II listed building and environmental worries. Members of the borough’s planning committee voted against the plans despite the planning officer’s recommendation. A Tower Hamlets spokeswoman says (via Guardian.co.uk): “(Members) indicated they were minded to refuse the application on such grounds as the impact on residents, impact on the grade-two listed building and the development’s energy efficiency and the matter was deferred to enable officers to bring back a report.”
News International unfazed by councilors’ rejection and says (also via Guardian.co.uk): “This is not unusual given the size and the scale of this proposal and we are confident that the remodelling constitutes a major opportunity to improve the working lives of our colleagues and offers significant benefit to the local community and environment.”
NI had wanted to leave Wapping for another London site — it was considering Paddington, Canary Wharf and a site near Bishopsgate — but the company was spooked by the recession and decided against the move, before delaying the renovation work from this summer to either winter or next year.An application letter (pdf) from architects DP9 confirms plans to create some public access to the site and to increase staffing levels there from 4,000 to 4.300, with workers from other London-based News Corp (NYSE: NWS) properties moving in, include staff from Dow Jones, the Wall Street Street Journal, HarperCollins, 20th Century Fox and MySpace, although DJ already has an office on East Smithfield, a stone’s throw away.

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