The group plans to lodge a planning application based on a design by Sir Terry Farrell, covering about one million square feet on around 6.5 acres of the 12 acre former prison site in north London.
Islington and Camden Councils both support Royal Mail's proposals and have agreed a planning brief for area. Over three quarters of the sorting office site could be turned into housing, ahead of a potential privatisation of the company.
Royal Mail is undertaking a £32m redevelopment of the site to update and consolidate its operations. It is moving a number of sites from across London to the Mount Pleasant site, which it hopes will increase production. This includes the installation of new machines for processing and handling mail and to improve working conditions for our people.
“Mount Pleasant mail centre is at the heart of mail processing in London, said Royal Mail, according to a CoStar report. “At the end of 2011, Camden and Islington Councils held a public consultation to explore what development might be possible on the parts of the Mount Pleasant site that Royal Mail no longer needs for its operations.
"A Planning Brief has now been agreed by the Councils which shows a substantial residential scheme on areas of the site that are surplus to Royal Mail's operational requirements."
Royal Mail has a property portfolio of 35m sq ft, most of which is on brownfield sites across the country. When the numerous sites have been resituated at Mount Pleasant, the group has plans to sell off the redundant space for other development.
