Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has approved Ballymore and Hammerson’s revised plans for Bishopsgate Goodsyard, E1.
Khan said that, while the plans had not satisfied all parties, he considered an appropriate balance had been struck and that all opportunities had to be taken to increase affordable workspace and housing in London.
He added that he agreed with the Greater London Authority’s planning officers that the harm to heritage assets from the scheme was “justified” as the site would be brought back into use.
However, Khan admitted the impact from the scheme on the daylight into neighbouring homes was “significant”, although it did not outweigh the benefits.
He urged Ballymore and Hammerson to work with the GLA and council officers to reduce this through reserved matters submissions.
Khan’s decision comes despite ongoing objections from Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils, as well as the Shoreditch Conservation Area Advisory Committee, Reclaim the Goodsyard, the Spitalfields Housing Association, the Victorian Society and the East End Trades Guild.
The planned development has been significantly altered since the £800m proposals were unveiled in 2014 and plans called in, in 2015, with the focus switching from residential to offices, the density reduced and the tallest point of the scheme shortened from 46 storeys to 29.
The current plans comprise 1.4m sq ft of workspace, of which 105,000 sq ft will be affordable at 60% of market rent. The number of homes in the scheme now sits at 500, down from 1,350. However, the affordable provision has increased from 15% to 50%.
John Mulryan, group managing director of Ballymore, told EG ahead of the hearing: “This is an area that people care a lot about.
“You are never going to keep everybody happy, but the reality is that the amendments we have made to this application over the last three years have gone a huge way towards meeting, I would say, most people’s aspirations in terms of what this project should be.
“I don’t think you can do much more in terms of provision of affordable housing.”
Even so, concerns have been voiced over the height, massing and impact on heritage assets, as well as concerns over the housing provision and the introduction of a hotel instead of increasing the number of homes in the scheme.
Tower Hamlets councillor John Pierce said the proposals “undermine the potential to create a mixed and inclusive neighbourhood” owing to the limited number of family-sized homes, and said the council was concerned the flats could be used as short-term lets.
He also asked for a decision on the plans to be deferred and more work done.
Spitalfields Housing Association chair Saif Osmani added that the proposals would take away residents’ right to light. He added that a lack of light, and therefore access to vitamin D, according to a report from the Runnymede Trust, had contributed to an increased number of coronavirus-related deaths among black and Bangladeshi residents and said developers persisting with building high-rise buildings were “killing more along their path”.
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