London’s BT Tower will get a new rooftop swimming pool under plans to turn the Grade II-listed landmark into a luxury hotel.
MCR Hotels, the American giant behind the development, is expected to consult the public next week on its proposals for the skyscraper, where guests could eventually take a swim 177 metres above Fitzrovia in central London.
Its plans also include opening the top of the BT Tower – formerly known as the Post Office Tower – to the public for the first time in almost half a century.
The observation decks at the top of the tower have been closed to the public since 1971, after a bomb exploded in the men’s toilets at one of its viewing galleries.
The blast did not result in anyone being hurt. However, it damaged buildings and cars up to 400 metres away.
Responsibility for the blast was claimed by both the Angry Brigade, a group of far-Left anarchists, and a man claiming to be from the “Kilburn Battalion” of the IRA. It remains unclear to this day who was behind the attack.
The incident also led to the temporary closure of the BT Tower’s famous revolving restaurant, called Top of the Tower, which was run by Sir Billy Butlin, of holiday camp operator Butlin’s.
The restaurant, which completed three rotations an hour, closed permanently in 1980 when its lease expired.
The Post Office Tower started life as a critical hub for broadcasting TV and phone signals across the UK.
The public was first allowed into the skyscraper in 1966, with more than 50,000 people visiting its viewing galleries within the first three weeks of its opening.
Back then, the tower was hailed as a symbol of London’s new technological age. Its main purpose was to support the microwave aerials carrying telecommunications signals from the capital to the rest of the country.
However, its days as a functioning telecoms hub have ended. Its microwave aerials were removed in 2011. Meanwhile, BT has been shifting its media and broadcast services on to cloud-based platforms, effectively making the tower redundant. Much of the building has stood empty for years.
MCR bought the telecoms tower for £275m from the BT Group in 2024. However, it cannot progress with its plans until BT decommissions and strips out the rest of its sensitive telecoms equipment, in a process expected to conclude around 2030.
MCR’s proposals will also include a new public square, walking routes through the site, as well as new shops and restaurants.
The revamp was initially led by Heatherwick Studio – the architects behind Boris Johnson’s ill-fated Garden Bridge project – before it was replaced by London-based Orms Architects in March.
MCR is pushing ahead with its development months after the company completed a deal to take Soho House private. The swoop added a network of 46 private members’ clubs to MCR’s portfolio, along with three Ned hotels.
MCR and Orms were contacted for comment.
Newmark, its planning adviser, declined to comment.
A spokesman for MCR confirmed that early proposals for the BT Tower will be shared next week.