A High Court judge has promised a decision by the end of next month on an appeal by a local campaign group objecting to plans to redevelop ITV’s former London headquarters – one of the biggest construction jobs set to begin in the capital.

The scheme has been held up by a series of planning wrangles since it was first put on ice by then communities secretary Michael Gove more than two years ago.

The hold-up has meant costs on the job have gone up from an estimated £400m to around £500m while, separately, the development manager CO-RE and funder Mitsubishi Estate have swapped the original builder, Lendlease, for Multiplex.

Opponents say the scheme is too big for its surrounds and a revised development put in its place

A two-day hearing into the scheme finished at the High Court this morning and Mr Justice Mould said he would issue his ruling by “the end of November”.

A local campaign group called Save Our South Bank (SOSB) was given permission in the spring to challenge Gove’s decision to give the job the green light earlier this year.

Designed by Make, the scheme has stirred controversy due to its scale and proximity to listed buildings and is described by SOSB as ‘The Slab’.

SOSB have said that the former ITV tower could be refurbished to provide 200 homes and 500,000 sq ft of offices while saving a huge amount of embodied carbon compared to Make’s full redevelopment approach.

The scheme at 72 Upper Ground has been mired in hold-ups since Lendlease originally won it in May 2022 with the job being called in by the previous government and the decision repeatedly held up before Gove finally gave it the green light in February this year.

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McGee is set to demolish the former ITV studios tower, if the scheme gets the green light from Mr Justice Mould

Last week, Building revealed that Multiplex had won the retendered redevelopment the scheme after CO-RE and Mitsubishi Estate decided on a plan B because of the uncertainty caused by Lendlease’s decision to sell up.

Known as Project Vista, others working on the job include including QS T&T Alinea, landscape architect Grant Associates and engineer Arup.

If the developer gets the green light, McGee is slated to start demolition work before Christmas ahead of project completion in early 2029.