The Government has controversially waved through plans for China to build a mega embassy at the former Royal Mint site in London.

This morning housing secretary Steve Reed signed off the scheme for the 20,000 sq metre complex at Royal Mint Court, just east of the City of London and opposite the Tower of London.

The decision comes despite opposition from MPs across Parliament about security concerns and clears the way for what would become China’s largest diplomatic outpost in Europe.

Prime minister Keir Starmer is expected to visit China later this month as ministers seek to reset economic and diplomatic ties. It would be the first visit by a British prime minister since 2018.

Reed said the approval was a “quasi-judicial” decision taken fairly and in line with planning policy. He added that it is now final unless successfully challenged in court.

China bought the Royal Mint Court site in 2018 for around £230m.

Plans for the embassy were delayed three times before approval was granted. The 240-page planning decision concludes the proposal complies with the development plan “when taken as a whole” and that planning permission and listed building consent should be granted.

The proposed super embassy would include offices, a large basement area, housing for 200 staff, and a new tunnel to connect embassy buildings

Ministers said intelligence agencies were involved throughout the process and that a package of protective security measures has been devised.

The £255m scheme was previously rejected by Tower Hamlets council in 2022 on safety and security grounds.

The proposed super-embassy includes offices, a substantial basement, accommodation for around 200 staff and a new tunnel linking key embassy buildings. Its location, close to sensitive fibre-optic infrastructure used by banks and major institutions, has fuelled ongoing concern.

The design by David Chipperfield Architects would repurpose the listed Johnson Smirke and Seamen’s Registry buildings, demolish others and introduce new residential and office blocks.

Internal layouts for two buildings — the Cultural Exchange Building and Embassy House — have been redacted from public documents, with parts of other blocks also blanked out.

Construction management advice is being provided by BCEGI UK, with Arcadis acting as project manager. Turner & Townsend is cost consultant, Arup is advising on structures and civils, Cundall on building services and Thornton Tomasetti on façades.

The Home Office has already pushed for a “hard perimeter” to prevent unregulated public access, a requirement that could still trigger a fresh planning application. A final government position is due next month, but ministerial scrutiny means security concerns — not just planning policy — could yet derail the scheme.