Welcome
Thank you for visiting our webpage about our plans to redevelop Waterbridge House, Loman Street. Here you can find out more information about our proposals and the public consultation about the site. Our public consultation on our revised plans runs from 6th May to 24th May.
About CANOPI
Canopi, formerly CAN Mezzanine, provides affordable workspace, at below market rates, for Charities and other Social Sector organisations.
Founded in Southwark over 23 years ago, we have been home to hundreds of organisations working for positive change that would otherwise not have been able to afford Central London premises. We are currently home to 135 customer organisations with 679 staff, all working locally, nationally and globally for social change.
You can find out more about us here.
About Waterbridge House
Waterbridge House at 32-36 Loman Street is on the corner of Loman Street and Risborough Street. It is bordered to the north by Copperfield Street and to the east by another office building, which has recently undergone refurbishment.
The current building has a semi basement and four storeys above ground level. The building is neither Listed nor in a Conservation Area. The character of Loman Street is mainly commercial and office use.
A planning permission was granted in 2021 to demolish the building and replace it with a new seven storey building. There are now several other planned buildings in the nearby area of a similar height, including the Roots in the Sky project at the former Blackfriars Crown Court building immediately to the south.
Sadly, Waterbridge House is no longer able to provide what our customers in the Social Sector need. The pandemic has fundamentally changed the way they operate, needing more flexible work space, and the ability to meet both in person and online.
The building is not fully accessible to all users with disabilities and has out of date and insufficient kitchen and meeting room space.
Our nearby Borough building’s lease expires in the next few years, and we have little hope of renewing this in a market that has constantly rising costs.
To prevent the organisations in Borough being priced out of Southwark with its established third sector talent, easy access to City donors and politicians at Westminster, we still need to develop a larger building at our Waterbridge House site.
Why new plans?
In 2021, Southwark Council granted consent for a new building to replace Waterbridge House. The plans were to demolish the existing building and replace it with a new seven storey office block on Loman Street.
We remain committed to providing affordable workspace, and to our home in Southwark. However, we have now considerably strengthened our plans and want to develop more than just offices.
We wish to build a flagship hub for the Social Sector in Southwark, with:
- Conference and event facilities
- Flexible workspaces
- Community cafe
- Affordable office
We reviewed our 2021 consented plans and commissioned a study to explore the potential to rescue the existing building.
We concluded we can achieve what we wish to, by refurbishing and extending the existing building to the height of the consented scheme.
We are now ready to share our plans for the refurbishment and extension of the existing Waterbridge House building with the local community.
Public Consultation
We are holding a public consultation to share our proposals and get feedback from the local community, to help us further review and shape our plans before we submit a revised planning application.
We held a public drop in session on the 7th May and a consultation webinar on the 10th May.
The information on display can be found here and the feedback form can be downloaded here.
If you have any questions or would like more information please call our freephone number 0800 689 5209 or email waterbridge@canopi.org.uk.
The feedback deadline is Midnight on Sunday 22nd May.
How to get in touch and send us your feedback
If you have a query or want to give us your feedback on our plans, please get in touch:
Post your feedback form to: Freepost CONSULTATION REPLY
FREEPHONE: 0800 689 5209
These details will put you in touch with the team organising the consultation.