by David Sands
Robert Maxwell, head of Mirror Group newspapers, has revealed the designs for his replacement of the Daily Mirror building at Holborn Circus, EC1, with a 750,000-sq ft office and retail complex.
A planning application was lodged with the City Corporation last December by project architects the GMW Partnership and Skidmore Owings & Merrill for a scheme that involves a major restructuring of the site.
The £750m development will be split into three distinct buildings with the higher elements being placed to the rear of the site to respect St Paul’s sightline — from Primrose Hill in north London — which was protected by the DOE earlier this year.
This means that the new building fronting the Circus will be much lower than the present one.
If the scheme wins planning consent, other properties adjacent to the Mirror building — designed by Sir Owen Williams in 1960 — would have to be demolished. Buildings at 43 and 48-54 Fetter Lane and 8-10, 12 and 14 New Fetter Lane are also earmarked for demolition.
A spokesman for the development team said: “The proposals take the policies of the City of London’s own local plan as a benchmark and will bring life, focus and interest to an area that has lost its bearings.”
A public mall with 250,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants will run the length of the development, linking up with the surrounding streets. Charles Varah of the scheme’s retail agents, Edward Erdman, believes that “Fetter Lane will become established as an important shopping venue”.
Baker Harris Saunders and Goldman Sachs International are advising on the scheme, which is set to be completed in 1994.
