How a group of nimbys could bring down China’s mega embassy plans
“It’s definitely a David-versus-Goliath situation,” says Mark Nygate. “That’s what we’ve been calling it from the beginning.”
And he’s not wrong. Because Mr Nygate, 65, is one of 50 residents fighting against controversial Chinese plans to build a new embassy complex on land next to their flats at the Royal Mint Court in East London.
While MPs from across the political spectrum have called on authorities to reject the plans over national security concerns and fears the site could be used for spying, the Royal Mint Residents Association’s concerns are more immediate.
Their flat, built at the back of the courtyard after the mint moved in the 1980s, will be on the edge of the new embassy, which would be the largest in Europe if approved, and they say this would threaten their privacy and the security of their home.
Speaking on behalf of the residents’ association of which he is treasurer, Mr Nygate said local residents were concerned that protests outside the embassy could be targeted by violence and the privacy of their properties compromised.
Mr Nygate called the Royal Mint Court home for 27 years. The property where he lived for the last eight of those years was owned by the Chinese government.
China bought the entire mint site for £255 million in 2018, before presenting plans to build the new diplomatic base to replace a number of official Chinese buildings in the capital.
The plans were rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 but China resubmitted them in July 2024, two weeks after Labor came to power in the general election.
The then housing secretary Angela Rayner called for the plans in August 2024, meaning the decision would be made by the government rather than a local authority. A year later, Ms. Rayner postponed the outcome.
National security concerns now being raised by lawmakers are due in part to the site’s proximity to the capital’s financial district and crucial data cables.
Shadow Home Office minister Alicia Kearns in the House of Commons this week Telegram It was stated that the plans included 208 secret rooms and one secret room. The Conservative Party said this would give China a “launching pad for economic warfare” against Britain.
The decision is expected to be made by January 20. But if the embassy plans are approved, Mr Nygate and the residents’ association plan to challenge them in court.
They launched a series of crowdfunding campaigns they called David v Goliath to support any regulatory review that might hinder development.
‘They ignored whatever we wanted’
Mr Nygate said the group was keen to engage with the project when it was first announced and had shared its views at various stages of the planning process. But they feel their concerns are being ignored.
he said Independent: “Our first meeting was in late 2019; we went there and tried to work with mutual respect with the staff actually involved in the development of the embassy.
“We took with us a red box full of coins [a nod to red symbolising luck in Chinese culture and the coins to the site’s mint heritage] He asked that the land be given to the ambassador with him to highlight what it was about.
“Because they are our hosts [holding the freehold]and if they put in explosion proof windows [at the embassy]We want the same.
“Your concerns are our concerns, we said. But they ignored everything we asked them to do. All they really wanted from us was a yes; they wanted us to agree to get it done, and we weren’t ready to do it.”
“We had these discussions for three or four years and it was very clear that nothing was going to be in our favor; it was just to get the job done and then see what happens to us.”
Mr Nygate said residents of the housing estate, which consists of about 100 shared-owned homes, wanted to stand in solidarity with diaspora groups protesting the project, including members of the Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong communities.
They also worry that if the embassy is built next door, their apartments may be seen as a nuisance by the Chinese state and may eventually decide to get rid of the houses.
Mr Nygate said of his own house: “My side window is 8.5 meters from the wooden fences that will border the embassy passageway. “If you look at the map of the site, our flat will directly overlook the residence where the embassy staff will live.
“Part of the plan is for them to have a balcony so they can sit outside. They won’t want us not to know what’s going on on the other side. We’ll have CCTV watching us, affecting our privacy, and we can’t control where it looks.”
He said: “It’s clear that our property is the most vulnerable part for them, so they won’t want us here. They’ll try to find somewhere to make it safer for them. That means getting us out of there first.”
national security concerns
This week nine MPs raised security concerns in a letter to Communities Minister Steve Reed seen by the BBC, warning that the embassy could be used to “step up intimidation” against dissidents.
They cited “recent records of Chinese espionage cases, interference activities and bounties against UK-based Hong Kongers” as well as “the fact that this embassy will be located above sensitive infrastructure critical to both the economic and national security of the UK.”
China, meanwhile, criticized delays to the project, saying the UK was “constantly complicating and politicizing the issue”.
“The development plan of the new Chinese Embassy is of high quality and is highly recognized by local professional organizations,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement in October.
“The practice complies with diplomatic practices and local regulations and procedures.”
A combination of national security concerns, a desire to support the residents’ association and fears about heritage loss means Conservative Councilor Peter Golds is backing Mr Nygate and residents in any future legal battles.
Mr Golds, who represents the nearby Tower Hamlets ward of Island Gardens, has long opposed the plans, saying: Independent: “My biggest concern is national security. If Reed agrees to this and there is a judicial review, I will move heaven and earth to help them raise money, appeal, and do everything I can.”
The area opposite the Tower of London also contains the foundations of the 14th-century Eastminster Abbey. Mr Golds therefore believes the project poses a threat to London’s heritage.
He said: “There’s an aerial photograph that we’ve seen in the archives, taken from above, where the amount of monastery foundations is quite extraordinary. Then you get the whole outline of the church, the tower, the abbot’s house, everything.
“Anywhere else they would be exposed and they would become a great tourist attraction. You’d have the old Mint building in front of you – it’s 200-odd years old – and then you’d have the foundations of the abbey. You’d have something in the Tower of London that would contribute to tourism.”
The Chinese Embassy in the UK declined to comment further when approached. Independent.
In the House of Commons this week, housing and planning minister Matthew Pennycook said of the decision: “All material considerations will be taken into account – which includes national security issues – but the decision is being made by my department in accordance with the statutory provisions governing planning decisions and published suitability guidance.”
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