"We did encounter some minor troubles, but they are not big problems. We had already anticipated this."
In response to Barron's question, Viscount Bute spoke with a relaxed look.
In fact, the biggest trouble for Argent Real Estate Group in the King's Cross renovation project at this time still comes from the local civil opposition group KXRLG (Kings Cross Railway Lands Group).
The King's Cross renovation project, led by Argent Real Estate Group, is the largest urban renewal plan in the core area of London in nearly 150 years. It is estimated that the London government alone will invest up to 3 billion pounds in this project.
As for the planning of the King's Cross renovation plan, many stakeholders are involved, including the Camden District Council, developers, land owners, community groups, academic institutions, etc.
Basically, the developer Argent Property Group is also the largest landowner in the area, so the interests of the two parties are basically the same.
Other parties, including KXCAAC, the Kenton District Historic Site Protection Organization, are representatives of academic institutions. Their appeal for the King's Cross renovation plan is that they believe that, based on the industrial background of King's Cross, there are many industrial and historical buildings left in the area. These buildings need to be retained in this King's Cross renovation plan and only renovated, or part of them need to be renovated while retaining their original shape.
This is similar to the protection of historical sites in China. However, for the Argent Real Estate Group, this problem is not a big one, because most of the buildings they have designated are not within the properties they hold. In other words, the Argent Real Estate Group can use the funds from the Kenton District Government to help them repair and renovate these buildings.
The only problem was that the abandoned gas tanks that originally belonged to the Devonshire family were also required to retain their original shape as much as possible and be transformed.
This is not a big problem. Argent Real Estate Group has selected a specialized design company through bidding. It will retain the external frames of the three gas tanks without changing their original shapes. It will transform the interior spaces of the three huge gas tanks into high-end apartments and eventually cover the outside of the building with glass curtain walls, which will also be very beautiful.
The only organization causing trouble for Argent Real Estate Group now is the KXRLG organization, which represents the interests of local residents.
According to a survey by Argent Real Estate Group, King's Cross is only 2-3 kilometers away from the core area of London. It can be said that it is roughly within the "three rings" of Greater London. It is also not far from the City of London and Canary Wharf - those two places can be said to be very expensive.
Therefore, the geographical location of King's Cross is still very advantageous.
Therefore, according to their research, based on London's global city status and the geographical location of King's Cross, office space is the most profitable type of all space.
Therefore, in the original development plan of Argent Real Estate Group, 455,510 square meters of the total building development in King's Cross of 853,195 square meters are commercial office space. This plan is also based on their own interests, so that they can obtain the greatest economic benefits after the transformation is completed.
However, the plan was opposed by residents' group KXRLG, who believed that such a high proportion of office space would mainly serve high-paid elites from outside, and that low-income, low-skilled workers in the area would be squeezed out and lose job opportunities.
Another point of conflict lies in the composition of residential area. From the perspective of the interests of Argent Real Estate Group, it is certainly hoped that more high-end residential areas can be built in King's Cross in the future. Not only can the houses be sold at higher prices, but it can also change the local resident structure, thereby "driving away" the original low-income people and attracting high-value consumers such as white-collar workers and wealthy people, which can also drive up the sales price and rent of the commercial district they build.
But this was also opposed by the KXELG organization.
They pointed out that according to the Unitary Development Plan (UDP) previously released by the City of London, which stipulates the land use of 28 "Opportunity Development Areas" including King's Cross, 40% of the residential area in the area should be "affordable housing" for residents, that is, the selling price of this part of the housing should be enough for the original residents to afford.
Among "affordable housing", at least 70% should be low-rent housing to meet the needs of low-income residents.
However, in the King's Cross renovation plan originally formulated by Argent Real Estate Group, the number of "affordable homes" only reached 50% of the UDP regulations, making the overall price of the renovated homes far beyond the economic affordability of local residents.
Also based on the above two points, the residents' group KXELG believed that the initial renovation plan for King's Cross had a tendency to gentrify the area.
By then, the arrival of businesses, the influx of the middle class and the construction of high-end consumer venues will make King's Cross no longer suitable for low-income indigenous residents, who will be forced to move to the city's fringe or poorer areas.
The final point of contradiction lies in the fact that when Argent Real Estate Group took the lead in the King's Cross renovation plan, it also gained a certain degree of planning flexibility.
This flexibility lies in the fact that in the King's Cross redevelopment plan, the official planning documents only stipulate an upper limit for the area of each land function, and do not give specific values.
This allows Argent Real Estate Group to adjust its development plans at any time according to market fluctuations.
This planning flexibility maximizes the long-term profits of the developer, Argent Real Estate Group.
However, the KCRLG organization believes that the definition and control of flexibility are completely dominated by developers, and the random changes in the environment and functions are more of an uncertainty factor for local residents, seriously affecting their daily lives.
So after Argent Real Estate Group submitted its initial plan to the Kenton District Council, the plan was opposed by the KCRLG organization and ultimately not approved.
"During this period of time, the district government has already held a hearing..."
"What was the outcome?"
Viscount Bute looked at Barron and shook his head.
"We had a big fight with the mob at that hearing, but it ended inconclusively. This kind of thing cannot be decided by one or two hearings. Our relationship can ensure that the district government is inclined towards us."
He said with disdain:
"If the King's Cross area still has those poor people after the transformation, then what's the point of the transformation? The district government can also see this, so it is imperative to upgrade the residential structure there, but things can't be done too much..."
"Wait, Your Excellency..."
Barron thought back to what he had just said, and suddenly realized:
"Did you anticipate this when you first submitted the plan? So the design plan at that time was not the final plan, but just a smokescreen."
"Bingo, Your Highness, your wisdom is amazing..."
Viscount Bute applauded and said,
"Indeed. After all, we have had experience with many urban renewal plans, including Canary Wharf. So when we submitted the first plan, we increased the area of office space and luxury residences to deal with those people."
It is indeed as Viscount Bute said, in the renovation plan of King's Cross, the Kenton District Government and the Argent Real Estate Group have a tacit understanding - but then again, if you cannot represent the interests of our capital, how can you MPs continue?
Even from the perspective of political achievements, keeping the "poor ghosts" who only cause trouble, how can we upgrade the resident structure and introduce more elite talents to make the Kenton District develop faster?
Then again, for the same vote, the demands of the poor ghosts are much more troublesome.
However, superficial work cannot be avoided. After several hearings, we will reach a consensus with the other party that "office space should be reduced to a reasonable proportion."
By then, as long as the negotiation result does not give any data indicators for reducing office space, the initial renovation plan with a very high proportion of office areas and high-end residences will be replaced by the renovation plan they themselves are preparing to implement, which will slightly reduce the proportion of these high-end areas. At the same time, government funding will be used to improve more living facilities for local residents, and this matter will end here.