Sutton to play key role in London Festival of Architecture 2025

Sutton Council has announced this week that it will be a key player in the 2025 London Festival of Architecture (LFA25).

Building on the success of the 2024 programme on Sutton High Street, this year Sutton Council along with partners Populate, Socius and Aviva are shifting the focus to the London Cancer Hub in Belmont - a globally-significant home for life sciences, innovation and cancer research.

The 2024 LFA programme was a landmark moment for Sutton, engaging communities through the festival’s “Reimagine” theme and celebrating the borough’s culture and architecture. Feedback from the popular events around Sutton High Street highlighted the sense of connection and pride about the borough among residents and visitors.

Sutton’s 2025 participation in the London Festival of Architecture will build on this by highlighting the London Cancer Hub’s vital role in shaping a better future. The site is now ranked first in Europe for oncology research and treatment, and is home to the internationally- recognised Institute for Cancer Research, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Maggie’s, Harris Academy Sutton and the Innovation Gateway.

The LFA 2025 theme is "Voices" and it aims to listen, amplify and bring together all the different voices shaping Sutton’s spaces and communities, as well as highlighting the importance of the London Cancer Hub to residents and visitors from across the capital. It will also showcase the incredible work already happening on-site by the Council’s partners. 

Aviva Capital Partners and Socius are investing £700 million in the London Cancer Hub site to transform around 1 million square feet into a leading life science district and will make Sutton the world’s largest cancer life science hub once completed. 

For further information about the events programme at the London Cancer Hub in June, please visit: https://www.londonfestivalofarchitecture.org/2025-area-focus/sutton/

ENDS

Notes for Editor:

• The London Festival of Architecture runs from 1 June to 30 June. It celebrates architectural excellence, community regeneration and innovative urban development.
• The London Cancer Hub in Belmont, Sutton is already Europe's leading cancer research district. Landmark investment on the site is transforming it into the global centre of innovation in cancer research and drug discovery. Partners at the London Cancer Hub are Sutton Council, The Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Socius, Aviva Capital Partners and Harris Academy. 
• This year’s theme of ‘Voices’ resonates with the Council and Populate’s ambition to continue to listen, amplify and intertwine the voices shaping our spaces and communities. The London Cancer Hub, Sutton has been named as a ‘LFA Neighbourhood’ for this year.
• Sutton was chosen as a host borough after a series of successful regeneration projects led by the Council and a successful 2024 programme with LFA, in partnership with local businesses and partners including Oru Sutton, the Really Local Group and Sutton College.
• Populate, a new Socius company specialising in place management with a focus on long-term value of developments for occupiers, communities and investors. Populate will be the delivery partner for the LFA programme at the London Cancer Hub and spearheading enabling voices of communities into the tangible reality of tomorrow on the site. This will ensure the development creates vibrant and inclusive spaces, benefiting both current and future generations.
• For more information about the London Cancer Hub, visit: https://www.sutton.gov.uk/w/the-london-cancer-hub