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There’s nothing worse than realising your passport is about to expire when you have a trip booked – but the good news is that you don’t have to instantly cancel your holiday

If you’ve got a holiday booked and have just discovered your passport needs renewing, then you may be wondering what your options are for getting a last-minute passport.

The HM Passport Office advises that a renewal takes about three weeks from the date it receives your documents, with online applications tending to be much faster than paper forms. While it’s an unofficial site, PassportWait is also a good place to check current processing times, as this is based on crowdsourced data. Currently, it shows an average processing time of 25 days.

Here’s a breakdown of the fastest options and how you can apply for them. It’s worth remembering that the rules for adult and child passports are different, and not every option is available for under 16s.

1 day Premium

The one day Premium service is the quickest option for a renewal, but it means you need to book an appointment at your nearest passport office. This service can only be used for renewing an adult passport issued after 31 December 2001.

You simply take your old passport and any other requested documents to the meeting, and your new passport will be ready to collect four hours after your appointment.

But this is an expensive option. It costs £239.50 or £253.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport, whereas a standard renewal is priced at £102.

1 week Fast Track

The Passport Office also offer a 1 week Fast Track option which can be used to renew, replace or change an adult or child passport. It can also be used to apply for a first child passport if you need one last-minute.

Again, you’ll be given a list of documents to bring along, and for adult passports these get checked and returned at the appointment. If you’re applying for a child passport, the documents are left with the Passport Office and will be returned to you later.

Your new passport is then delivered to your home one week later by Royal Mail tracked delivery. This service is also more expensive than standard passport renewals due to the short turnaround time. For adults, the fee is £192 for a standard passport or £206 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport.

For a child’s passport, the fee is £156.50 or £170.50 for a 54-page frequent traveller passport. The usual cost for an under 16’s passport is £66.50.

Passport office locations

There are seven passport offices across the UK where you can make an appointment for the 1 day Premium or 1 week Fast Track service. At busy times, it can be difficult to get an appointment, so if you can be flexible about which location you visit this can help you get a slot faster.

• London HM Passport Office – E16 1DR
• Peterborough HM Passport Office – PE2 8YY
• Newport HM Passport Office – NP20 2DW
• Liverpool HM Passport Office – L3 9BP
• Durham HM Passport Office – DH1 1SL
• Glasgow HM Passport Office – G4 0BT
• Belfast HM Passport Office – BT1 3GN

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The tower was once London’s tallest building, but has been closed to the public other than for special events for decades. Now, it’s becoming a hotel as well as opening a whole new tourist attraction for the capital

For decades, the BT Tower has been an icon in the London skyline, a 1960s structure that has been everything from a revolving restaurant to a news display for the capital.

But the tower’s doors have remained closed to the public since 1981, other than a handful of special events. Unless you worked in telecoms you won’t have been able to appreciate this London landmark up close.

The Grade II-listed building, based in Fitzrovia, was completed in 1964 and originally named the Post Office Tower. At 177 metres high, it was the tallest building in London for years, but was damaged by a bomb in 1971. Its tower-based restaurant and viewing galleries had to close as a result.

The public has been unable to access the building since 1981. It was renamed the British Telecom Tower a few years later. Since then, it has been used as a communications hub. Most Londoners know it for its breaking news alerts, which play on a huge 360-degree screen wrapped around the tower.

Now, architecture firm Orms has revealed plans to turn the London landmark into a luxurious hotel with a rooftop pool. Its plans were shown at a public consultation earlier this week, with visuals showing how the completed project will look.

In addition to the hotel, the tower would include a visitor experience space giving views across the London skyline. On the ground floor, the retro 1960s buildings would be converted into shops and cafés, with plans to remove “unsightly” modern additions.

Other plans include a new public square with pedestrian routes through the complex, according to the Architects’ Journal. This is where the entrance and exit to the new visitor experience will be found. A new staircase would open up the main body of the tower, and hotel rooms would be arranged around its core.

Past consultations have also speculated on the uses for levels 24 to 30, which could become “spaces for art and cultural engagement”, although no solid plans have been revealed just yet.

Camden Council is set to receive the planning application for the site this autumn, and if successful, work could begin in 2029, once BT decommissions and removes equipment from the site.

The BT Tower isn’t the only London landmark being brought back to life as a hotel. Custom House on the River Thames, a beautiful Georgian structure, is set to become a 179-room luxury hotel including a basement spa with a 25m pool, waterfront restaurants, and quayside areas open to the public.

Admiralty Arch on The Mall, long associated with royal parades, is also set to open as a Waldorf Astoria hotel this autumn, and will offer views of Buckingham Palace in some of its rooms as well as restaurants and a spa.

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