Ofcom to be based on Bankside

All the London-based staff of Ofcom will be located in 160,000 square feet of the refurbished riverside building which is currently leased by Pearson from Chelsfield plc. Pearson, which owns the Financial Times based across the road, planned to use the building as a new base for its FT.com operation before the economic downturn prompted cuts in online investment.

Ofcom chairman Lord Currie says: "This is an excellent location. It fulfils all the criteria for a modern regulator. It is centrally based, so close to a number of a our key stakeholders, and also accessible for staff from the current regulators who will join Ofcom.

"The building can be adapted for state of the art technology and we will be able to adopt an open plan style which will reflect Ofcom's business principles and cultural style.

"It means we can bring together nearly all staff into a single HQ from the start and begin integrated regulation from an integrated building."

Staff from the Ofcom transition team, currently based in temporary premises in Regent Street, are likely to move to the new building in the Spring and they will be joined by others from the current regulators and elsewhere in the run up to the establishment of Ofcom as a fully fledged regulator.

Due to be fully up and running when the Communications Bill becomes law, Ofcom will replace the five existing regulators for telecommunications, broadcasting and spectrum management. The Independent Television Commission (ITC); The Broadcasting Standards Commission (BSC); The Office of Telecommunications (Oftel); The Radiocommunications Agency and The Radio Authority.

• Ofcom