Self-storage group Big Yellow is set to push on with development plans for a site in Wapping, east London – including a new premises for the company with homes and a nightclub.
The FTSE 250 company wants to redevelop 60-70 and 100 The Highway, and 110 Pennington Street, E1, into a new scheme comprising a self-storage facility and flexible office space, 114 homes and a replacement nightclub for the E1 venue.
The site currently includes a 12-unit building mostly occupied by Big Yellow, with three units used by photography and events company Studio Space, which manages the 1,600-capacity E1 nightclub. Much of the remainder of the site is a former Volkswagen car show room.
Big Yellow already has 17 stores that offer flexible workspace and said it has identified “a growing demand for both self-storage space and flexible office space in this area of the borough”.
The company agreed during pre-application discussions with Tower Hamlets Council to include a replacement nightclub venue in the redevelopment. Big Yellow said it had worked “collaboratively” with Studio Spaces to design the new space.
A report from Tower Hamlets planning officers noted the existing club was recently voted the 45th best in the world by DJ magazine. The report added that E1 dedicated two to three events out of every eight or nine to LGBTQ+ nights as well as “the kink and sex-positive community”, and as such is an “inclusive space” protected by the borough’s development plan.
“Our office would strongly urge against any proposal that risks reducing the scale or quality of this asset as a significant and valuable part of London’s cultural and night-time economy,” it added.
The Mountford Pigott-designed scheme is recommended for approval at next week’s Tower Hamlets development committee meeting.
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