65 Fleet Street

Reimagining 65 Fleet Street

Dominus is pleased to present a public consultation on plans for the sustainable refurbishment of 65 Fleet Street.

Our proposals will retrofit and refurbish a derelict building to deliver a vibrant and considered mixed-use scheme which improves upon the existing consent while providing a long-term future for a local institution, The Tipperary.

Our proposals will reimagine the vacant site to deliver high-quality, professionally-managed student accommodation to support the growth of the higher education sector in the Square Mile and the rest of London. 

As part of our commitment to early community engagement, we want to hear your feedback to shape the development of our plans.

About Dominus

From modest origins decades ago, we’ve grown into one of the UK’s most dynamic family-owned business groups, including specialising in industry- leading hotels and student accommodation to award-winning residential properties, regeneration projects and mixed-use schemes.

We are an award-winning, forward-thinking UK real estate owner, developer and investor, fundamentally committed to a better built environment. We build social value by enhancing the world around us, taking meaningful, tangible action in communities.

Working in collaboration nationwide, we make a daily difference at street level, with innovative partnerships and a progressive, long-term view of the future.

Dominus has an exceptional track record in the City of London, and our proposals for 65 Fleet Street marks the next phase in our long term partnership with the City.

61-65 Holborn Viaduct, City of London

We are making significant progress building out our development with a ground-floor cultural and community use, a publicly accessible roof terrace and purpose-built student accommodation.

ground floor cultural and community use alongside our partners the Creative Land Trust (a registered charity backed by the Mayor of London, Arts Council England and Bloomberg)
homes for 669 students including 35% as affordable, alongside University Partners Queen Mary University of London
a publicly accessible roof terrace with views across the City of London with a new pedestrian route through the site, connecting City Thameslink to the new Museum of London
the planning application process followed an award winning meanwhile use hosted at the site called Gaia’s Garden. This held programmes over the summer of 2021 targeted at bringing underrepresented groups into the City of London

65 Crutched Friars, City of London

We have started on site building a permanent home for the Migration Museum, a new pocket park and purpose-built student accommodation.

A purpose-built permanent home for the Migration Museum (an institution currently temporarily based in Lewisham Shopping Centre and which has been seeking a home since 2013
Accommodation for 769 students including 35% affordable, alongside University Partners Queen Mary University of London
public realm enhancements including a new pocket park at Rangoon Street

181 Talgarth Road, Hammersmith

We are well underway building out a new hotel (opening imminently) and purpose-built student accommodation (opening summer 2025).

1 Medlock Street, Manchester

We have begun building out the first phase of a mixed-use development including new ‘Grade A’ office and purpose-built student accommodation.

302-312 Stratford High Street

We have recently submitted a planning application for a mixed-use project with a not-for-profit community pub, affordable workspace and purpose-built student accommodation.

a not-for-profit community pub
workspace designed, fitted out and marketed to meet the needs of small local businesses, with half to be provided at 50% of market rents
accommodation for 465 students including 35% as affordable
a new public space and wider public realm enhancements beyond the ‘red line’

The Site

Originally completed in 1989, 65 Fleet Street was previously occupied by law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, before the company vacated the premises in 2019.

The northern part of the building fronts Fleet Street, and includes the Tipperary pub, retail uses and office floorspace. The southern part of the building comprises office floorspace previously used by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as a single occupier. The building also includes the Grade II listed Whitefriars Crypt at basement level.

While the property is one building and is linked at lower ground level, a semi-enclosed courtyard at ground floor provides separation between the north and south parts of the building.

The northern portion of the building of 65 Fleet Street falls into the Fleet Street Conservation Area. The Southern part of the Building is adjacent to both the Temple and Whitefriars Conservation Areas but sits outside of the surrounding Conservation Areas.

In April 2020, planning permission was granted for extension and façade changes to deliver an office use. This scheme was subsequently abandoned in 2023 due to pressures associated with the pandemic and increasing competition in the office space market, leaving 65 Fleet Street as a blighted stranded asset in need of significant investment. 

An Area of Change

The site sits at the heart of a major area of change in the City of London, adjacent to the Justice Quarter redevelopment and the nearby 120 Fleet Street.

It also sits within the Fleet Street Quarter’s ambitious ‘Era of Change’ strategy which bridges the diverse uses in this unique City location. The Era of Change strategy includes ambitious public realm improvements for key sites including Fleet Street and Ludgate Circus.

Our aspiration for 65 Fleet Street is to support the shared vision for this unique City location as a vibrant mixed-use district with a dynamic range of uses to attract increased footfall and secure wide-reaching social and economic benefits.

Our vision

1

Refurbishing, retrofitting and rejuvenating a derelict building with a new mixed-use proposal which improves upon the existing planning permission scheme, and helps realize the visions and visions and ambitions of the:
- City of London Destination City Programme;
- City of London Emerging Local Plan, which designates Fleet Street and Ludgate as Key Areas of Change;
- Fleet Street Quarter BID and its Era of Change Programme

2

Taking a sustainable design approach - retaining and upgrading the existing building with extensions and alterations making it more environmentally friendly and helping meet the City of London’s Climate Action Strategy

3

Refurbishing the Tipperary Public House to return a much loved high-street amenity to the Fleet Street local and business community

4

Delivering new cultural/public uses that address the site’s heritage and future – positively contributing towards delivering a shared vision for a diverse district undergoing change

5

Providing high quality and professionally managed purpose-built student accommodation that will benefit students, local universities and the local area

6

Generating social and economic benefits for the local community and supporting the Destination City initiative through helping ensure ‘that the City is the world’s most innovative, inclusive, and sustainable business ecosystem as well as an attractive place to invest, work, live, learn, and visit

Reopening The Tipperary

A key aspect of our proposals is the restoration and reopening of London’s “Oldest Irish Pub”, The Tipperary.

The reopening and custodianship of The Tipperary is central to Dominus’s vision for 65 Fleet Street.

Thought to have housed a public house since 1605, The Tipperary became an Irish pub in the late 19th century and served as a staple of City of London hospitality until it was forced to close in 2020 due to pressures associated with the pandemic.

Prior to consulting on the planning application, we have submitted a separate licensing application for the reopening of The Tipperary to the City of London. Our intention is to restore a crucial aspect of City heritage, returning a pillar of traditional hospitality in the Square Mile to thriving public use. Our investment will secure the long-term future and economic longevity of The Tipperary, enabling it to endure as an independent institution irrespective of future changes

Delivering new cultural and public uses

Our proposals will make provision for new cultural uses at ground floor level, with active frontages to the principal elevations and internal courtyard elevations, positively contributing to a shared vision for this area of change as a vibrant mixed-use district.

The proposals will also ensure the protection of the Grade II-listed Whitefriars Crypt. The access arrangements for the Crypt are currently unclear and there is little to indicate its location from any of the surrounding streets, though it is on the blue plaque walking route. The Design Team have made initial contact with Historic England about how to better reveal the Crypt.

Providing high-quality, professionally managed student accommodation

In close proximity to the Inns of Courts and to both Kings College London and LSE, 65 Fleet Street is located at the epicentre of higher education in the City. There is a growing student demographic in the Square Mile, many in higher education, and the City’s local plan outlines a number of ambitions to support and grow this demographic.

Our proposals will reimagine the vacant site to deliver high-quality, professionally-managed student accommodation that will benefit students, local universities and the local area.

Sustainability

We want to hear from you

In February 2024, we held a public consultation to shape the development of our plans.

We are now holding a series o neighbours’ meetings to share some more detail on our final plans and our plan for considerate operation of the proposed student facility.