Estates News Updates

LSE has been granted £2.27m of funding under the Public Services Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) launched by Salix on behalf of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)

Building works to decarbonise Lionel Robbins Building (LRB) will commence on 23 June.

The works to the heating system include the replacement of the existing gas boilers with electric Air Source Heat Pumps on the roof of the building. Key dates are displayed below and also listed here (pdf).

Crane lifts are scheduled to take place at the junction between John Watkins Plaza and Portugal Street on the dates below:

Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August

Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 August 

Saturday 6 September (with 13 September as back up in case of bad weather)

Power shutdowns are scheduled to take place on the dates below:

Saturday 21 June (Full day including remedial works on lifts) 

Saturday 28 June (Full day including remedial works on lifts) 

Saturday 6 September (Full day) 

Saturday 20 September (Half day)

From 26 July for up to two weeks, works will take place on the roof which may be noisy and cause some disruption. LRB staff affected by the works may book hot desks in Clement House (CLM) or Pankhurst House (PAN). The current users of LRB and those using hot desks in CLM or PAN are encouraged to work remotely where possible, to ensure that hot desks are available for all staff that need to be on campus.

Hot desks can be booked via Condeco. Please find the guidance at the link Booking a desk at LSE.

Meeting rooms in CLM and PAN can be booked via the Condeco plug in, when sending meeting invitations in Outlook. Alternative meeting spaces can be booked via LSE Resource Booker.

Should any assistance be required with booking via Condeco, please contact the Estates Systems Manager, Daniel Print on 020 7955 7912 or d.print@lse.ac.uk  

Should any LRB user require adjustments in CLM or PAN, please contact Capital Development Project Manager, Elena Forti at e.forti@lse.ac.uk.

Regular updates will be provided in due course.

CKK returned to full use from Monday 31 March, following successful weekend work to reconnect the building to the main power supply and carry out testing.

We appreciate the patience shown by staff and students throughout, and are especially grateful to colleagues who have worked so hard to get the building back up and running again.

Previous updates on this incident are below:

• 28 March
• 4pm, 25 March
• 12 noon, 25 March
• 4pm, 24 March
• 9am, 24 March 

Due to planned signage works on the Centre Building underpass, access to Clement's Inn from CBG Square / Grange Court (including the lift) will be closed on Monday 7 April 2025.

Please use the alternative route via Strand/Aldwych during this period.

The fire assembly point for occupants for FAW/PAN/PEL will be outside the Garrick at the corner of Aldwych/Houghton Street for Monday 7 April and will revert to John Watkins Plaza on Tuesday 8 April 2025.

Apologies for the inconvenience.

There are so many projects happening or about to start on campus that we thought it was a good time to provide an update in this newsletter

LSE Capital Development is undertaking a programme of work to accelerate our carbon reduction targets. Work is scheduled in the Lionel Robbins Building (LRB) between June and November 2025 to remove gas boilers and install electric Air Source Heat Pumps. 

Power shutdowns may be required between July and August as the UK Power Networks transformer is upgraded.

An early power shut down is planned for Saturday 5th April, when LRB will be closed from 7am to 12pm (mid-day). This means the Library will be closed to all users between those times.  The shut down is required for design development.

For more information on LSE’s approach to reducing our carbon footprint

These works were completed earlier than planned.
The route is now fully accessible and the fire assembly point for Clement House occupants will revert to outside PAN/FAW in Clement's Inn with effect from Monday 24 March 2025.

Access into Clement’s Inn from the Strand/Aldwych will be restricted from Monday 3 March to 28 March. Pedestrian access should be unaffected, this is due to gas works on the Strand. 

During this period the fire assembly point for Clement House occupants will be outside the Garrick as shown on the map (pdf).

The LSE Estates Division have achieved the ‘We invest in people Gold’ accreditation.

This incredible accomplishment is a direct result of everyone’s hard work and dedication.  The Investors in People assessment recognized this, and we're thrilled with this achievement.

It's a significant milestone, as only 28% of organisations achieve Gold accreditation, highlighting our strong culture of mutual support and commitment to making our workplace even better.  We're especially proud to be one of only two University Estates Departments in the UK to hold this prestigious recognition.

The We invest in people assessment gave us valuable feedback, we were especially delighted to hear that the vast majority of our people feel respected, valued and appreciated for the work they do. We're committed to continuous improvement and are using the feedback to develop recommendations and an action plan to drive further positive changes and keep moving forward.

Julian Robinson, Director of Estates added

“We are LSE’s largest Service Division with the most diverse staff who are valued by the School community. We are only as good as the people we employ and to have achieved this gold standard makes me incredibly proud. It is my privilege to lead this amazing team! Thank you to all Estates staff for the great work they do and to those who took part in the survey and interviews with the assessor and especially to Allan Blair, Jas Sidhu and Davinder Ratra for steering us through the very tough assessment." 

Portugal Street will be closed to traffic for the duration of the Graduation ceremonies 16 - 19 December 2024 from 8am to 8pm.

Please see the traffic management plan detailing the diversion route below. 

Please note, there will be limited access to Gorger Alley and a parking bay suspension on Portugal Street (Beside Peacock Theatre).

What do students think about the Estate? Evolving LSE's campus to meet students' needs

Studies on student perceptions of campus quality were undertaken in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023, and in 2012 research on what student aspirations for campus study space, were undertaken. Find out how the School addressed the complex challenge of evolving the campus to meet students' wants and needs.

As part of the Bankside House redevelopment planning application we are required to undertake a survey of the usage of cycle racks on campus.  This will involve installing temporary cameras that will monitor usage of all campus cycle storage for approximately one week.

The cameras will be installed on Thursday 28 November and removed on Friday 6 December 2024.  Signage will be installed at each point to make everyone aware of the cameras and their purpose.

If you have any questions please contact Stuart Pennycook at: s.pennycook@lse.ac.uk

These works will not commence on 28 October, as planned.  Once a start date has been agreed this will be communicated.  Apologies for any inconvenience.

Essential roofing and building fabric work to George IV Building will commence on 29 July 2024. Due to unforseen works during construction, the completion date will now be 13 December 2024.

To ensure the safety of students and staff passing through this area, the contractor will put out safety barriers around the working area when they are putting up and taking down the scaffolding.

George IV Pub will continue trading throughout the construction programme and their opening hours will not be affected by the construction works.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused during these essential maintenance works.

If you have any further queries or problems, please contact: d.mcpherson1@lse.ac.uk 

Due to roof works at 265 Strand, Clement's Inn will close at Strand end (access will be via CBG steps) 8 - 11 July (4pm-10pm) and possibly 12 July, 4pm-10pm (if weather delays occur).

Please use the alternative route during this time:

The fire assembly point for Clement House occupants will be outside the Garrick during this time. 

Back in February 2024, LSE received £2.7m of funding from Salix.  As reported, these funds will be used to take a whole building retrofit approach to the decarbonisation of two campus buildings: Connaught House (CON) and Lionel Robbins Building (LRB).

Find out more about the project that will start soon and is estimated to complete in Winter 2025. 

The Old Curiosity Shop has been awarded winner in the RICS Regional Awards 2024 category of Heritage Project for the London region.  The project was one of 9 London projects shortlisted for the regional award. 
Congratulations to Barbara Moldawa from our Capital Development team, who led the project for LSE Estates.
Read more about the awards here

A tower crane is due to be installed at 35 Lincoln’s Inn Fields (elevation facing the Sir Arthur Lewis Building, SAL) on the weekend of 8 – 9 June 2024 which will involve a road closure to part of Lincoln Inn Fields (LIF). The map below illustrates the extent of the roads and parking bays that will be affected during the erection of the tower crane. Notices have been posted on lampposts in the area advising of the road closures.

The closures will commence on Saturday 8 June from 6:00am and roads will reopen on Sunday 9 June at 8.00pm. The contractor has provided the following programme of activities for the weekend.

Read more about the Firoz Lalji Global Hub Redevelopment Project and, more specifically, find out how the demolition works may impact you.

Due to scaffolding removal at 265 Strand, Clement's Inn will close each evening from 5-11pm (6-11pm during exams in CLM and PAN) from 6 May - 3 June 2024.

Please use the alternative route during this time:

The fire assembly point for Clement House occupants will be outside the Garrick during this time.