A campaigner opposed to the redevelopment of the Shell Centre, SE1, on London’s South Bank has failed in his bid to have the planning permission quashed at the Court of Appeal.
The project involves partial demolition of the Shell Centre and the development of eight towers delivering 2.3m sq ft of commercial space and 877 flats.
The £1.2bn scheme was called in by Eric Pickles in 2013 owing to concerns about its impact on the Westminster World Heritage Site before being granted permission in 2014.
The campaigner, George Turner, opposes the plans primarily because they fail to meet Lambeth council’s 40% affordable housing minimum. He also argued at the High Court that the inspector had shown bias towards the developers.
Turner’s lawyer said: “During the hearing the inspector consistently treated objectors unfairly and gave rise to an appearance of bias.”
The lawyer for the secretary of state found that although the planning inspector had been “extremely discourteous” this did not amount to a bias in favour of Shell International and Braeburn Estates, the developer jointly owned by Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar.
Turner has the ability to take the case to the Supreme Court, but said he did not intend to.
