Freemasons Hall 60 Great Queen Street London WC2B 5AZ Data via plota.co.uk

Proposal

Conversion and refurbishment of the cafe/bar (former Clerks' Office) to provide new dining room including opening up of existing windows onto new terrace within northern lightwell at upper ground floor level. Reconfiguration of lower ground floor to provide supporting kitchen / changing facilities / office accommodation and plant room. New lift shaft connecting lower ground floor kitchen with upper ground and mezzanine floors. Extension within North lightwell at lower ground floor to provide supporting WCs and storage. New rooflight at roof level / vertical glazing to enclose northern lightwell. General refurbishment of perimeter walls of north lightwell including decorative recladding of existing North Lightwell. New vertical circulation block including riser and roof mounted plant enclosure within southern lightwell. New ventilation flue to roof level integrated with existing boiler chimney. Refurbishment of the Gallery Suite room. New photovoltaic and chiller plant installations at roof level. Decarbonisation of building. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
around 29 Sept 2026
Decision
Expected by 24 Nov 2026

This application is under consideration - no decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision around 13 Jan 2027, from Camden's recent changes of use. Comments are open until 23 Oct 2026.

Comment on this application ↗

Site constraints 9

19 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin
Nearest: Freemasons Hall, Grade II*, about 11 m from the postcode pin · 4 Grade II*, 15 Grade II
The site itself is not listed. Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show all 19 with distances
Historic England ↗
Seven Dials (Covent Garden) conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Article 4 direction
Basements. Named permitted development rights are withdrawn here.
An Article 4 direction withdraws particular permitted development rights, so work that would normally need no application needs one here. Not every council has published its directions.
Archaeological priority area
An assessment or field evaluation may be asked for before ground works.
The council or Historic England considers archaeology likely here. A desk-based assessment, and sometimes trial trenching, can be asked for with the application.
Air quality management area: Camden AQMA
The council has declared the area as failing an air quality objective.
Schemes that add traffic, parking or combustion plant are assessed against the area's action plan and may need an air quality assessment.
Council record ↗
Central activities zone
The core of central London in the London Plan.
Offices, culture and the other strategic functions of the centre take priority over new housing here.
Also on the record
Registered park or garden about 234 m away: Lincoln's Inn Fields; Inside the Camden built-up area; Town centre about 22 m away: West End.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 30 September 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Camden
Application type
Listed Building Consent
Postcode
WC2B 5AZ
Received
around 29 Sept 2026
Validated
29 Sept 2026
Ward
Holborn and Covent Garden
Case officer
Show
Applicant
Show
Freehold owner
Show

Decision outlook

Day 5 of the 56-day target. Camden usually decides changes of use by day 106.

Day 5101 days to the predicted decision (day 106)
33%decided within 8 weeks
87%approved
15%go to committee

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by Camden in the last twelve months, from validation. Camden decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
23 Oct 2026
Camden
Planning Authority Score
3.1/10
Poor
#231 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Other decisions

Camden is slower than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #242 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly less likely to be approved here (88%) than the national average (90%).

Slower than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Camden decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
88%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #149 of 296
88%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #215 of 296
49%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #242 of 296
41%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #158 of 296
90%
Minor dwellings approved
467 decided (1-9 homes)
80%
Major dwellings approved
10 decided (10+ homes)
93%
Change of use approved
46 decided
1,973
Total decisions
234 refused in the year to March 2026

Freehold owner and leaseholders: Information produced by HM Land Registry. © Crown copyright 2026. Source: HM Land Registry, UK and overseas companies that own property in England and Wales, September 2026 release.