History
The former New Scotland Yard building was constructed as part of the comprehensive redevelopment of Victoria Street, which began during the late 1950s. Following the Second World War, during the post-war economic boom from 1956 onwards, the drive to reconstruct Victoria Street as an office district began. This was encouraged by both the London County Council and Westminster City Council. The period saw huge growth in the demand for office space as service roles expanded to replace traditional manufacturing jobs in the city.
The complex is formed of two closely set parallel blocks. The first along Victoria street is an extremely long nine-storey block and to its rear a twenty-storey slab with a link building between. Both are constructed out of concrete frames, and they have been finished with uniform glazing and stainless steel sheathing which replaced original polished granite. The refurbishment of the facade was completed in 1986, and it also included the installation of reflective one-way glass. A number of security measures were added to the exterior of New Scotland Yard during the 2000s, including concrete barriers in front of ground-level windows as a countermeasure against car bombing, a concrete wall around the entrance to the building, and a covered walkway from the street to the entrance into the building. Armed officers from the Diplomatic Protection Group patrolled the exterior of the building, alongside security staff.
In May 2013, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that New Scotland Yard would be sold and that the headquarters would be moved back to the Curtis Green Building on Victoria Embankment. It was later sold to Abu Dhabi Financial Group in December 2014 for £370m, despite the fact that only £250m was expected to be raised from the sale. The newer premises at the Curtis Green Building is much smaller, leaner, and a portion of the 2,000 staff will need to be located at different buildings across the city.
Our Version of Events
It was agreed that we had a fair way to travel to get to New Scotland Yard, so we decided to sip a bottle of dog to pass the time. We arrived a little quicker than we’d imagined, and by then the dog was desperate for a walk, so we had to take a quick pit stop behind a brothel just off Victoria Street. As the usual routine goes we made a few rounds and scoped out access, and noticed that there was a camera pointing in every single direction. Moreover, there seemed to be hundreds of them. Finally deciding that would probably have to ‘wing it’, so to speak, we carefully placed our pints on the barriers and hopped over. From there, we executed plan Z, and carefully ducked and stumbled our way towards the main foyer. We took extra care not to spill out beverages.
Before long, we were greeted by authoritative-looking lines, rules and various pieces of signage: 'Do Not Cross', 'Do Not Enter' and 'Authorized Personnel Only'. After deciding we were authorised enough, it was long before we were walking through the corridors of the legendary New Scotland Yard building. In haste, we made our way to the top first, so that we could take in the views of London and Victoria. The rooftop was incredible, and there was opportunity to do a fair bit of climbing up there, but unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs while we were out there. As a result, our photos are probably a little shit. For some reason, the rain seemed to fall in the direction of the best view, and with little cover up there, we got absolutely soaked. Sadly, it was almost impossible to get a decent photo of The London Eye and Parliament.
We spent a little while on the rooftop, but eventually re-entered the building to seek warmth and dryness. From there we had a good look around most of the levels of the building. It's safe to say that all that's left is pretty much an empty shell – they have made swift work of clearing the place. It almost felt like your average derp, and for that reasons we thought it should deserve to be put into the public forum.
Explored with Ford Mayhem, Slayaaaa, Mockney Reject, Urban Duck and one anonymous individual.
The former New Scotland Yard building was constructed as part of the comprehensive redevelopment of Victoria Street, which began during the late 1950s. Following the Second World War, during the post-war economic boom from 1956 onwards, the drive to reconstruct Victoria Street as an office district began. This was encouraged by both the London County Council and Westminster City Council. The period saw huge growth in the demand for office space as service roles expanded to replace traditional manufacturing jobs in the city.
The complex is formed of two closely set parallel blocks. The first along Victoria street is an extremely long nine-storey block and to its rear a twenty-storey slab with a link building between. Both are constructed out of concrete frames, and they have been finished with uniform glazing and stainless steel sheathing which replaced original polished granite. The refurbishment of the facade was completed in 1986, and it also included the installation of reflective one-way glass. A number of security measures were added to the exterior of New Scotland Yard during the 2000s, including concrete barriers in front of ground-level windows as a countermeasure against car bombing, a concrete wall around the entrance to the building, and a covered walkway from the street to the entrance into the building. Armed officers from the Diplomatic Protection Group patrolled the exterior of the building, alongside security staff.
In May 2013, the Metropolitan Police confirmed that New Scotland Yard would be sold and that the headquarters would be moved back to the Curtis Green Building on Victoria Embankment. It was later sold to Abu Dhabi Financial Group in December 2014 for £370m, despite the fact that only £250m was expected to be raised from the sale. The newer premises at the Curtis Green Building is much smaller, leaner, and a portion of the 2,000 staff will need to be located at different buildings across the city.
Our Version of Events
It was agreed that we had a fair way to travel to get to New Scotland Yard, so we decided to sip a bottle of dog to pass the time. We arrived a little quicker than we’d imagined, and by then the dog was desperate for a walk, so we had to take a quick pit stop behind a brothel just off Victoria Street. As the usual routine goes we made a few rounds and scoped out access, and noticed that there was a camera pointing in every single direction. Moreover, there seemed to be hundreds of them. Finally deciding that would probably have to ‘wing it’, so to speak, we carefully placed our pints on the barriers and hopped over. From there, we executed plan Z, and carefully ducked and stumbled our way towards the main foyer. We took extra care not to spill out beverages.
Before long, we were greeted by authoritative-looking lines, rules and various pieces of signage: 'Do Not Cross', 'Do Not Enter' and 'Authorized Personnel Only'. After deciding we were authorised enough, it was long before we were walking through the corridors of the legendary New Scotland Yard building. In haste, we made our way to the top first, so that we could take in the views of London and Victoria. The rooftop was incredible, and there was opportunity to do a fair bit of climbing up there, but unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs while we were out there. As a result, our photos are probably a little shit. For some reason, the rain seemed to fall in the direction of the best view, and with little cover up there, we got absolutely soaked. Sadly, it was almost impossible to get a decent photo of The London Eye and Parliament.
We spent a little while on the rooftop, but eventually re-entered the building to seek warmth and dryness. From there we had a good look around most of the levels of the building. It's safe to say that all that's left is pretty much an empty shell – they have made swift work of clearing the place. It almost felt like your average derp, and for that reasons we thought it should deserve to be put into the public forum.
Explored with Ford Mayhem, Slayaaaa, Mockney Reject, Urban Duck and one anonymous individual.
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