First Public Exhibition · June 2026

A site shaped by history, now ready for renewal.

We're developing plans for a new living-led scheme at St Clare House, with a community space at Writers House. Tell us what you think.

St Clare House · Writers House · City of London
The Plans

An outline of the scheme.

We're at an early stage. Our plans include redeveloping St Clare House into a new living-led scheme, and bringing Writers House back into use as a community space.

01

A new home for the City

A living-led scheme that helps meet the City of London's identified need for new homes, with high-quality accommodation for those who live and work in the Square Mile.

02

Writers House, returned

We want to refurbish this vacant Victorian warehouse and bring it back into use as a community space. We're consulting now on what it should be used for.

03

Opening up the ground floor

An active, publicly-accessible ground floor with new pedestrian routes through the site — reinstating the historic Sheppy Yard route from east to west.

04

New public space

A new urban garden in the heart of the site — somewhere for residents, workers and visitors to dwell.

Exhibition Boards

The boards from our exhibition.

We held our first public exhibition on 4th and 5th June 2026. Take a look at our consultation boards from those events.

Location

Where is St Clare House?

St Clare House and Writers House are situated on the historic Minories, at the eastern boundary of the City of London — a short walk from Aldgate, Tower Hill and Tower Gateway stations.

An historic Ordnance Survey map showing Sheppy Yard, Holy Trinity Church and Haydon Street as they stood in the late nineteenth century.
Historical Ordnance Survey map
Map of the City of London showing the proposed Sheppy Yard development at St Clare House, picked out in green and red, with surrounding streets and the nearest tube stations marked.
Postcode EC3N 1DD Nearest tube Aldgate · Tower Hill · Tower Gateway
The Site

An historic corner of the City.

St Clare House sits on the historic Minories, at the eastern boundary of the City of London. The area was once home to the medieval Abbey of the Minoresses of St. Clare — from which the street name comes. The neighbourhood was badly damaged during The Blitz, but Writers House survived.

We've taken the name Sheppy Yard from the historic route which used to run through the site in line with our desire to open up the site to the local community.

The view down Minories, with Ye Three Lords pub and St Clare House. Minories — Today
Writers House — the surviving Victorian warehouse on the site. Writers House
The interior of St Clare House — low dropped ceilings, dated finishes, and an inefficient office floorplate. Inside St Clare House — Today

A 1950s office, no longer fit for purpose.

St Clare House is a post-war office building. Its low ceiling heights and inefficient floorplans no longer meet the needs of modern workplaces or today's environmental standards.

Redevelopment is the opportunity to deliver new homes the City needs, bring Writers House back into community use, and open up the publicly-accessible ground floor and gardens the area lacks today.

Ground Floor

What could the ground floor look like?

Hover or tap each marker to see what the public realm could include. These are indicative — your feedback will help shape what's actually delivered.

Indicative ground floor plan of Sheppy Yard.
Tap the markers to explore
1

Select a feature

Tap any numbered marker on the plan to see what the public realm could include at that location.

Writers House

Help shape Writers House!

A future community space designed with local voices at its heart. Writers House has been vacant for over a decade — our vision is to bring it back into use as a dedicated space for the local community.

A community kitchen

A shared space for cooking, eating and gathering — where neighbours, residents and groups can meet over a meal.

A neighbourhood café

A welcoming café open to all — somewhere to pause, work, meet a friend, and bring a little more life to the corner of Minories.

An affordable workspace

Low-cost desks and rooms for local makers, freelancers and small organisations — a place to work, build, and stay rooted in the area.

These are starting points, not final decisions. Tell us what you think →

The Consultation

Have your say.

We want to hear from people who live and work in the area. Your feedback will directly inform the proposals as they develop.

01

Take the online survey

Our dedicated online survey takes about 10 minutes. Your responses are anonymous.

givemyview.com/Sheppy-Yard →
02

View the exhibition boards

We held our first public exhibition on 4th and 5th June 2026. Couldn't make it? Browse all the boards online.

View the boards →
03

Email or call us

Get in touch directly with any specific questions or comments about the proposals.

hello@sheppy-yard.co.uk →
Online Survey

Tell us what you think, it only takes 10 minutes!

Our consultation survey is hosted by Give My View. Your responses are anonymous and will help shape our proposals for Sheppy Yard.

Take the Survey at Give My View →

Round 1 consultation closes 19th June 2026

Stay Informed

Keep up to date with the project.

Sign up for occasional email updates on the proposals, upcoming exhibitions, and key project milestones.

We'll only use your details to send you project updates.

Timeline

A clear timeline for transforming Sheppy Yard.

01
Spring 2026

Initial design concepts for Sheppy Yard

02
June 2026

Launch consultation website and host first community exhibition

03
July – August 2026

Community feedback and develop designs

04
September 2026

Hold second community exhibition for feedback on developed designs

05
September 2026

Review feedback and continue design development

06
Autumn 2026

Submit planning application to the City of London

The Team

Who's behind the proposals.

Sheppy Yard is being brought forward by HUB, working with Orms architects and landscape architects Macgregor Smith.

Take the Survey