US investment bank Goldman Sachs has been told it must protect a series of nine ceramic panels on the Fleet Building in London if it wishes to proceed with a proposed redevelopment of the property.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport confirmed that the Dorothy Annan-designed panels have been listed but added that redevelopment of the building can still go ahead.

A spokesman said: “It’s the panels themselves that have been listed and not the building. If Goldman Sachs wants to redevelop the building they can’t just throw the panels into a skip, they will have to be removed and kept or reinstalled somewhere else.”

The Twentieth Century Society was behind the application to list the panels. A statement from the society said: “We have just heard the great news that our application to list the fabulous set of ceramic murals by Dorothy Annan on Farringdon Street has been successful.

“Listing was backed by the artist Frank Auerbach and Penelope Curtis, the Director of Tate Britain.” 

English Heritage’s report on the listing application said: “The series of nine ceramic panels at the Fleet Building by Dorothy Annan has special artistic interest, with a striking and highly distinctive design that is of real quality.

“They also have historic interest for their subject matter, period character, and relative rarity as surviving works of 1960s mural art.

“They are recognisable as stand-alone objects of special artistic interest. English Heritage is delighted that the Minister has endorsed our recommendation that the panels be listed at Grade II.”