The government has rejected two separate proposals for office-led tower schemes near the Shard at London Bridge.
Communities secretary Michael Gove agreed with the planning inspector that no application should be allowed for the same plot, known as New City Court, and said the proposals of great height would damage the historical environment, as reported. Construction News’ sister title Architects Magazine.
The decision notice states that Gove gave “significant weight to damage to the character and appearance of the urban landscape” and noted the potential loss of daylight and sunlight to neighboring blocks.
The plans were originally submitted by Great Portland Estates (GPE) to Southwark Council in 2018. The plans involved the demolition of an 1980s building on the St Thomas Street site by the Shard.
GPE then introduced a second, shorter scheme in April 2021 after concerns were raised about its height. But the council did not make a decision on whether to go ahead.
As a result, the developer appealed both the 2018 (37 storey) and 2021 (26 storey) applications, along with listed building consent applications linked to the two plans for the renewal of the neighboring Georgian terrace at 4-16 St Thomas Street. .
Both high-rises would have contained around 47,000 square meters of offices, shops and a new tube entrance to London Bridge station.
According to documents prepared for the public inquiry in July 2022, the main points of disagreement were Southwark’s concerns about the height and massing of the building and its impact on local heritage as the conservation area of Borough Street.
The scheme drew objections from SAVE Britain’s Heritage over its impact on local listed buildings and from Guy’s Hospital, which said it would reduce daylight in student housing.
In relation to the tower, Gove agreed with planning inspector Claire Searson that the public gardens on the top floor of the proposal “would be a positive element of the schemes”, but added that “the success of the space the ground floor” [was] more limited by problems of size and light”.
And while Gove also agreed that the plot was “broadly acceptable” for a tall building and that “in architectural terms the designs” were “interesting and… of good quality”, both schemes were seen ” undermined by deficiencies identified in the public sphere, and scale and massifications” and the contextual relationship with the environment.
Appeals for the restoration of the Georgian terrace were allowed.
A GPE spokesman said: “We are carefully reviewing the planning inspector’s report and the Secretary of State’s decision and will provide a further update in due course.”
