Developer lands Whitehall site despite security worry

The Metropolitan Police is in the process of selling one of the most politically sensitive properties in its history.

Scotland Yard has agreed a £40 million sale of a block in the middle of Whitehall - close to 10 Downing Street and the Ministry of Defence - that will see the site redeveloped as upmarket flats.

Real estate magazine Property Week reported that London-based developer Welbeck Land has won the bidding battle for the Curtis Green Building - and sparked a security row.

Welbeck, part-owned by London's wealthy Howard de Walden family, is in talks to pay more than £15 million over the asking price for the block. It has beaten off competition from 28 rivals including the Candy brothers, Gerald Ronson's Heron and Development Securities.

The Met hired property agent Knight Frank last year to sell the site as part of its plan to raise £150 million from its six million-square-foot estate. But MPs and various government departments tried to stop the sale, bidding for it themselves because of the perceived security issues. There are concerns that the redeveloped building could be occupied by individuals who pose a threat to the nation. Some MPs are thought to have wanted the building to be occupied only by security-cleared officials - 10 Downing Street can reportedly be seen from parts of it.

But despite various attempts, the police's assets and budget do not come under the auspices of central government, and it was free to sell the building to the highest bidder.

The Victoria Embankment block will be turned into up to 40 homes with views across the Thames, and could sell for up to £2500 a square foot. The 95,000-square-foot block - built in 1937 and named after its architect, Curtis Green - was used as offices by the Met and last year became vacant after the reorganisation of the force.

Welbeck Land, based in the West End, has developed properties across the capital from shops on Oxford Street to City offices.

FAMILY FORTUNE
The Howard de Walden Estate is one of London's landed estates, with huge swathes of buildings across the capital. Owned by the de Walden family, it includes 90 acres of land in Marylebone, totalling almost 850 buildings. The family, which has invested vast sums improving Marylebone High Street, can trace its ownership of land in the area back to 1086.