Residents lose High Court battle against Government on new Chinese mega-embassy in London

Residents in central London have lost a High Court challenge against the Government’s decision to give the go-ahead for a new Chinese super-embassy in the capital.The association argued that planning conditions imposed as part of approving the development are worthless as China does not have to abide by then due to the Vienna Convention protection of diplomatic premises.The local residents also says there was a failure to make public two documents, one on security and the second on the terror blast assessment, so local people could not comment on them as part of the planning process.They also cited the fact that some of the rooms on the plans for the embassy, near the Tower of London, had been redacted.Potential impact of a car bomb attack on the new China Super Embassy in LondonArupThe judges concluded that the first three grounds could go to a review but then dismissed them.“The court found that the Secretary of State had not acted unlawfully,” they ruled.The Government defended the RMCRA claim, saying it “conscientiously and carefully had regard” to the residents’ concerns. People could also be injured within nearly 180 metres of the planned diplomatic complex.Police officers outside Royal Mint Court, London, where China wants to build its new embassyPA WireMinisters insists that they followed planning rules in giving the go-ahead for the new embassy which at 20,000-square metres would be the biggest in Europe.China purchased the Royal Mint Court site for £255 million in 2018, and it included the homes of around 200 local residents.