Camden New Journal - News: Mayor Ken says yes to green revamp of hospital site

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Camden New Journal - by ROISIN GADELRAB
Published: 04 October 2007

Artist’s impression of how Noho Square – the former hospital site – could look

Mayor Ken says yes to green revamp of hospital site

MAYOR of London Ken Livingstone has given the go-ahead for a multi-million pound development on the site of the old Middlesex Hospital.
Mr Livingstone, who had been unhappy with the proportion of designated affordable housing, last week (Thursday) gave the green light for the massive Noho Square complex of shops, offices and homes to go ahead.
Luxury developers Candy & Candy are part of the consortium Project Abbey (Guernsey) Ltd, which bought the site from UCLH for £175 million last June.
Camden Council unanimously turned down the plans in May this year but did not have the power to give the final say, as the site falls on the Westminster Camden border.
Last month Westminster approved the plan but the final say fell to Mr Livingstone.
Lib Dem councillor for Kilburn David Abrahams, who was part of the Camden planning committee, which opposed the plans, said: “It’s disappointing because we never had the power to refuse it but both the officers and the development control committee were very concerned about the impact of the residents of Cleveland Street and the Charlotte Street conservation area as well as the impact on transport. We’re concerned about the impact on residents in terms of overlooking and overshadowing and the fact that it’s going to have additional floors, which will loom over the residents. Sadly it seems as if Westminster didn’t agree with us and nor did the Mayor.”
Earlier this year more than 200 residents and businesses living and working in surrounding streets signed a petition pleading with developers to reduce the height of their plans which they said would almost double the height of the existing building in places.

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