London mayor Boris Johnson is under attack at the High Court over his decision to give the go-ahead to plans by British Land to redevelop Victorian warehouses on Norton Folgate, E1, a two-acre site owned by the City of London Corporation.
A conservation group claims that Johnson’s decision last September to act as planning authority for the application, which Tower Hamlets councillors had resolved to reject amid vocal opposition, was unlawful.
Mr Justice Gilbart is being asked to quash the mayor’s direction, which would leave the matter for the council to decide. Such a ruling would place the scheme in serious doubt.
Johnson resolved to grant permission in January, and, once final approval is secured, British Land intends to redevelop the site, keeping six of the buildings, plus the façades from two others. The developer will use brick for the exteriors of the new buildings to make them fit in with their surroundings.
But Richard Harwood, representing the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust, argued that the statutory criteria were not met for the mayor to make a direction that he should act as planning authority.
He said that the proposals were not of a sufficient size to have a significant impact on the objectives of the London Plan, and that the issues raised by the scheme were of only local significance, not of capital-wide or strategic importance. While the site is close to both the City of London and Hackney borough, he said that the development would not have significant effects on those adjoining boroughs.
Lawyers for the mayor and the separately represented developer argue that the direction should be upheld. The mayor maintains that the challenge is without merit, and that it is important to deliver strategic office development in City fringe areas.
British Land’s Norton Folgate site
The two-acre site is bounded by Elder Street, Folgate Street, Blossom Street, Norton Folgate, Shoreditch High Street and Commercial Street, E1. The total proposed development covers 350,000 sq ft, and comprises:
• 257,225 sq ft offices
• 13 shops
• 40 flats
• 15,000 sq ft of public space
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