At a glance
• Campaigners, conservationists and cultural institutions believe a proposed 18-storey office block would damage the Whitechapel conservation area
• Tower Hamlets councillors approved the proposal despite officials’ concerns
• Mayor Sadiq Khan decided not to intervene, despite more than 1,000 people signing a petition
Campaigners and conservationists have failed in their bid to get Sir Sadiq Khan to block proposals for a “vast and overbearing” £500m office block in an east London conservation area.
More than 1,100 people had signed a petition opposing the 18-storey block in Whitechapel that they fear would block daylight from a nearby primary school and homes and be out of keeping with the historic aspect of the area.
But documents published on the Greater London Authority website on Tuesday show that Sir Sadiq had decided not to intervene and had referred the application back to Tower Hamlets council.
This means that, unless Communities Secretary Steve Reed calls in the scheme, it will be granted planning permission.
Sir Sadiq formally notified the council of his decision not to intervene in a letter dated November 17.
A mayoral spokeswoman said on Wednesday: "A package of public benefits, including a new landscaped courtyard and community hall, has been secured as part of the proposed scheme and there were no sound planning reasons for the mayor to intervene in the case.”
A report setting out the mayor’s decision stated: “At Stage 1, GLA officers stated that the proposed height and massing requires further refinement in townscape terms to better respond to the conservation area.
“While further refinement has not occurred in this instance, the proposals are considered acceptable on balance. The less than substantial harm to heritage assets is outweighed by public benefits of the proposal.”
It added: “That Tower Hamlets council be advised that the mayor is content for the council to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take, and does not therefore wish to direct refusal, or direct that he is to be the local planning authority.”
Jules Pipe, Sir Sadiq’s deputy mayor for planning, had raised concerns when given first sight of the plans in April last year.
In January this year, Tower Hamlets councillors went against advice from their officials when they granted planning permission.
The current application was the third attempt from the Panama-based applicant, Alliance Property Asia Inc, to secure permission for the Foster + Partners designed scheme, which would stand up to 68m (223ft) tall.
Neighbouring cultural institutions Whitechapel Gallery and Toynbee Hall led opposition, along with conservation group Save Britain’s Heritage.
They said that the proposals would “flatten a series of handsome Edwardian and Victorian buildings” at 101-105 Whitechapel High Street and 2-6 Commercial Street within the Whitechapel High Street Conservation Area, leaving behind only the facades at the base of an 18-storey tower.
The development will require the demolition of the western annexe of Mulberry Canon Barnett Primary School, requiring the annexe and playground to be relocated, amid fears that the rest of the school would be cast into shadow.
Gilane Tawadros, director at the Grade II* listed Whitechapel Gallery, said in a letter to Sir Sadiq: “As an important stakeholder in the area, we strongly urge you to reject this proposal which is contrary to the Local Plan in every material respect.”
Rebecca Sycamore, chief executive of Toynbee Hall, which is Grade II listed, said: “We understand that time will not stand still but think that future developments can be more respectful and sympathetic to the area they are part of while also contributing to a future that meets the needs of local residents.”
Henrietta Billings, director at Save Britain's Heritage, said: “We are urging the mayor to refuse plans for this vast and overbearing office block and encourage the owners to re-think. What the existing buildings need is maintenance and sympathetic investment - not to be stamped on by an 18-storey tower which would cast a long shadow on the special character of the surrounding streets.”
When the application was first referred to City Hall last year, Mr Pipe said he believed it did not comply with the London Plan, the mayor’s development blueprint.
However a report by Greater London Authority planning officers said the application was “supported in principle in strategic planning terms” and would cause “less than substantial harm to heritage assets”.
The application site sits immediately adjacent to the Aldgate Tall Building Zone and includes an 84-space NCP car park.
The proposal is about two to three storeys higher than the existing buildings within the terrace and “would appear overscaled”, the GLA said last year.
The report said: “There are serious concerns around the proposed height of the main new building.”
However, the provision of a new landscaped courtyard (Canon Barnet Yard) was described as a positive addition to the public realm.
The petition states: “We strongly object to plans for an office block up to 18 storeys tall which threatens to stamp on Whitechapel High Street.
“It would cast the Canon Barnett School into shadow and tower over the playground, harming pupils’ health and wellbeing and invading the school’s privacy. It would cause a drastic loss of light for nearby residents.
“A building of this scale, outside a Tall Building Zone, would tear through the Whitechapel High Street Conservation Area and the valuable character of the historic East End. Only the facades of these characterful Victorian and Edwardian buildings would survive demolition, reducing them to the wallpaper of an overscaled office block.
“It’s time to listen to the community, refuse this scheme and find a better way forward for Whitechapel and its conservation area.”
In February 2022, Tower Hamlets refused permission for an earlier scheme. A first draft of the scheme that was submitted in 2018 was withdrawn in 2020.
The Standard was unable to contact Alliance Property Asia.
