Plans are being drawn up to turn a section of the £1bn former Candy & Candy development Noho Square in central London into allotments as part of a project dubbed “GrowHo”

Nick Cross from architect Nick Cross Associates said he was in talks with Rebecca Hossack, a Conservative councillor who has been running a campaign for local residents to use the three-acre building site north of Oxford Street as allotments. He said they discussed plans to create a new space and had got the go-ahead from developer Stanhope.

He added that he was already working on plans: “We've decided to call it GrowHo. I think it would be fantastic to have public allotments in central London.”

He could not say how much of the site would be made available for the project.

A spokesperson for Stanhope said: “Stanhope and Kaupthing are considering the possibility of making part of the site available for temporary use as allotments or similar for local residents. We are still in the process of working through the practical implications of this, including planning, and safety considerations. Once these issues have been properly considered we intend to enter discussions with Westminster council.”