New Scotland Yard, the HQ of the Met police, has been sold to a Middle East developer for \u00a3370 million in one of the biggest ever property deals in central London.<\/p>\n
The Abu Dhabi Financial Group paid \u00a3120 million more than the asking price for the 1960s block and and plans a development of luxury flats on the site overlooking Westminster Abbey.<\/p>\n
Boris Johnson and policing chiefs today pledged that the cash windfall would be pumped into modernising front line policing – equipping cops on the beat with tablets, smartphones and body cameras.<\/p>\n
The mayor is also planning to use some money to establish a public museum for crime artefacts and policing memorabilia currently stored in the Met\u2019s infamous \u201cblack museum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Details of what could be on show have not been decided but the Crime Museum, which is closed to the public, includes an array of macabre items including a letter said to be from Jack the Ripper, the umbrella and ricin pellet used to assassinate Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov and the pots and stove serial killer Dennis Nilsen used to boil the flesh of his victims.<\/p>\n
The mayor said the proceeds from the sale would be re-invested in technology allowing officers to spend more time on the streets.<\/p>\n
Mr Johnson said: \u201cThe sale of this under-used and outdated building means we can now not only protect that rich heritage, but also fund the new HQ and kit out bobbies with the latest mobile technology to secure the future of the force.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis landmark deal allows us to preserve the past whilst giving today\u2019s Met a vital cash boost so our officers can go on keeping London safe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Met is moving to a slimmed down HQ on the Victoria Embankment but will retain the iconic revolving sign. Police say the \u00a358 million move will save \u00a36 million a year in running costs.<\/p>\n
The sale of New Scotland Yard is part of a radical overhaul of the Met\u2019s estate which has raised \u00a3215 million through the sale of 52 buildings and police stations.<\/p>\n
Once the strategy is completed in 2016, police chiefs say it will save the force over \u00a360m in annual running costs – enough to fund 1,000 officers.<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Stephen Greenhalgh said the sale justified the Mayor\u2019s controversial strategy to sell off police buidlings, including dozens of Victorian police stations.<\/p>\n
He said : \u201cThis is a win for everyone – police officers get the investment in technology they need, Londoners get the modern, efficient police service they deserve, and the public purse gets a huge windfall from stamp duty, helping to fund our schools and hospitals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Victoria Street site is projected to yield up to \u00a3100m in stamp duty receipts once the luxury flats are sold.<\/p>\n
Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: \u201cWe now expect to need to making savings of up to \u00a31.4bn by the end of the next spending review, including some \u00a3600m which we will have delivered by 2015\/16. This is equivalent to a third of the Met\u2019s original budget so this money is absolutely vital to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will allow us to reinvest in our remaining estate and in the technology needed to support our officers as they fight crime and support victims.\u201d<\/p>\n
The development is the second prestige deal for the Abu Dhabi developers in central London. The group is also developing a scheme for 72 luxury residential flats next to Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n
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