It’s definitely a David vs Goliath situation”, says Mark Nygate. “That’s what we’ve called it from the start.”
And he’s not wrong. Because Mark, 65, is one of 50 residents fighting China’s controversial plans to build a sprawling new embassy complex on the land next to their flats at Royal Mint Court in east London.
While MPs from across the political spectrum have urged officials to reject the plans because of concerns about national security and fears that the site could be used for espionage, the Royal Mint Residents’ Association’s concerns are much closer to home.
Their flats, which were built at the back of the court in the 1980s after the mint relocated, would border the new embassy – set to be the largest in Europe – if approved, which they say would threaten their privacy and the safety of their homes.
Speaking on behalf of the residents’ association, of which he is treasurer, Mark said locals were concerned about the possibility of protests outside the embassy, it being targeted by violence, and the privacy of their properties being compromised.
Mark has called Royal Mint Court home for 27 years. For the last eight years, the freehold of the estate he lives on has been owned by the Chinese government.
China purchased the entire mint site for £255m in 2018 before submitting plans to build its new diplomatic base, designed to replace numerous official Chinese buildings across the capital.
Plans were rejected by Tower Hamlets Council in 2022 but China resubmitted them in July 2024, a fortnight after Labour came to power in the general election.
The housing secretary at the time, Angela Rayner, called in the plans in the month after, meaning the government will make the final decision, rather than a local authority. A year later, Ms Rayner delayed the outcome.
Now, concerns about national security raised by MPs are partly due to the site’s proximity to the capital’s financial district and crucial data cables.
In the House of Commons this week, shadow home office minister Alicia Kearns quoted a report by The Telegraph, which said the plans include 208 secret rooms and a hidden chamber. The Conservative Party said it would give China a “launch pad for economic warfare” against the UK.
A decision is expected to be made by 20 January. But if the embassy plans are approved, Mark and the residents’ association intend to challenge it in the courts.
It has organised a number of crowdfunding campaigns – which it has labelled David vs Goliath – to support any legal review, which could block the development.
‘Everything we asked them for, they just ignored’
Mark said the group was willing to engage with the project when it was first announced and has shared its views at various stages of the planning process. But residents feel their concerns have been ignored.
He told The Independent: “Our very first meeting was in late 2019 – we went there and tried to work with mutual respect with the staff that are actually involved in the development of the embassy.
“We took with us a red box with coins [a nod to red symbolising luck in Chinese culture and the coins to the site’s mint heritage] in it to highlight what the land was about and asked for it to be given to the ambassador.
“Because they’re our landlords [holding the freehold], and if they’re putting in blast-proof windows [at the embassy], we want the same.
“‘Your concerns are our concerns,’ we said. But everything we asked them for, they just ignored. All they really wanted from us was a yes – they wanted us to agree to it being done. And we just weren’t prepared to do that.
“We had those conversations for three or four years, and it was quite obvious nothing would go in our favour for it – it was just get it done and then see what happens to us.”
Mark said the residents of the housing estate, which comprises around 100 shared-ownership homes, wish to stand in solidarity with diaspora groups who have protested against the project, including members of the Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong communities.
They are also worried that their flats could be viewed as an inconvenience by the Chinese state if the embassy were to be built as its neighbour, and it might eventually decide to get rid of them.
About his own home, Mark said: “My side window is 8.5 metres from the wooden fence that would be the border with the embassy slip road. If you look at the map of the estate, our flat will be facing directly onto the housing where the embassy staff will be living.
“Part of the plan is for them to have balconies, so they would be able to sit out there. They aren’t going to want us on the other side, not knowing what’s going on. We’re going to have CCTV watching us, affecting our privacy, with no control over where it’s going to be pointing.”
He said: “It’s quite obvious that our side of the estate is the most vulnerable for them, so they’re not going to want us here. They’re going to try to find somewhere to make it more secure for them. That means moving us off first.”
National security concerns
This week, nine MPs raised security concerns and warned the embassy could be used to “step up intimidation” against dissidents in a letter, seen by the BBC, sent to communities secretary Steve Reed.
They cited “the recent track record of Chinese espionage cases, interference activities, and issuing of bounties against UK-based Hong Kongers”, as well as “the fact that this embassy would sit above sensitive infrastructure critical to both the UK’s economic and national security”.
Meanwhile, China has criticised the delays in dealing with the project, saying the UK was “constantly complicating and politicising the matter”.
“The development scheme of the new Chinese embassy is of high quality and has been highly recognised by local professional bodies,” the Chinese embassy said in a statement in October.
“The application complies with diplomatic practice and local regulations and procedures.”
A combination of national security concerns, a wish to support the residents’ association and fears over lost heritage means that Conservative councillor Peter Golds supports Mark and residents in any future judicial challenge.
Peter, who represents the nearby Tower Hamlets ward of Island Gardens, has long opposed the plans, telling The Independent: “My biggest concern is national security. If Reed grants it and there will be a judicial review, I will be moving heaven and earth to help them raise money, appeal and do anything I can.”
The site, opposite the Tower of London, also boasts the foundations of the 13th-century Eastminster Abbey. As such, Peter believes the project poses a threat to London’s heritage.
He said: “There is an aerial photograph, which we have seen in archives, and the amount of the abbey foundations is quite extraordinary. Then you’ve got the whole outline of the church, the tower, the abbot’s house – everything.
“Anywhere else, they would have been exposed and been a wonderful tourist attraction. You’d have the old mint building in front – 200-odd years old – and then you could have the abbey foundations. You would have something that would add up to tourism at the Tower of London.”
The Chinese embassy in the UK declined to comment further when approached by The 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 – they include matters of national security – but the decision is being taken by my department in line with statutory provisions governing planning decisions and published propriety guidance.”
