Alan Mendoz

THE city council will fork out an extra £1.2million on consultants following delays and regulatory changes for a major housing development.

Westminster City Council is now expected to pay £8.6million in professional fees for the Lisson Grove Programme, according to analysis by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council originally estimated professional fees at this stage of the project to cost £7.4million.

But, according to a council report, this is due to a two-year delay approving the scope for the Lilestone Centre, redesigning the scheme to meet new regulations under the Building Safety Act 2022 and the council’s own “Retrofit First” policy.

This policy requires developers to explore the option to retrofit before demolishing buildings in the borough, according to the council’s website.

Opposition councillor and the Conservative group’s “value for money” lead Alan Mendoza said: “As we’ve seen with the Lisson Grove Programme, and with the PDHU (Pimlico district heating undertaking) Westminster Council appears incapable of delivering projects without costly consultants. Westminster residents realise that they are paying the price with over £3million spent on these alone, which we fear is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Architect Levitt Bernstein will receive the biggest increase from the council – an extra £939k – taking their costs for driving the project through RIBA stages two and seven to £3.8million. Cost consultant Ward Williams Associates will receive £99.5k, bringing their total to £1million.

Planning consultants Savills will receive an extra £79k while structural engineers Cre8 Structures will get £88k.

The city council will make a £38k saving from its contract with project manager Arcadis.

According to a separate report in May, the decrease in cost is due to Arcadis changing consultants under its appointment.

The spend was approved by the then cabinet member for climate action, regeneration and renters, Cllr Matt Noble, in April.

According to spending reports published in May, the council found reprocuring the contracts at this stage of the project would significantly risk delays and increased costs and lead to a potential loss of “critical project knowledge” due to the commercially sensitive and complex nature of the work undertaken to date.

The Lisson Grove Programme forms part of the Church Street Regeneration Area and covers two sites: Lilestone Street and Orchardson Street.

These are expected to provide between 250 and 300 homes, commercial space, and a health and wellbeing hub. The feasibility stage was completed in 2024.

The Church Street Regeneration is set to deliver 1,750 new high-quality homes, pedestrianised spaces, a new library, improve the market and new community services, according to a website dedicated to the project.

A council spokesperson said: “The Lisson Grove Regeneration Project is a significant investment in better homes, health outcomes, and sustainability for residents. To deliver this, the council has appointed professional teams including architects and consultants to support the development of the proposals.

“All consultancy costs remain within the approved budget set in March 2025. As with any project, the council has robust processes in place to manage costs effectively. Across the construction industry, organisations are responding to new legislative requirements such as the Building Safety Act. These additional demands have been met without exceeding the original budget. When it comes to major projects, failing to plan is planning to fail. Investing in resources now makes sure council taxpayers’ money isn’t wasted later on.”