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Artist’s impression of the planned building |
It’s ‘huge, bland’ and been given the green light
Hazel Blears dismisses local objections to City Road skyscraper in favour of ‘national plan’
A HUGE Manhattan-style skyscraper, which objectors claim will tower over the whole of Finsbury, was given the go-ahead by Communities Secretary Hazel Blears.
The secretary of state approved the massive 39-storey glass tower and then, in a double blow to residents of City Road, Featherstone Street and Old Street, overruled a planning inspector to approve the most controversial element of the scheme – a nine-storey tower block overshadowing their homes.
Ms Blears announced the decision this week following a public inquiry at Finsbury Town Hall in July.
A letter from Ms Blears’ office reads: “The secretary of state agrees that, looked at in isolation, the proposed tower is a slender, elegant and attractive piece of architecture.”
It goes on to say: “Any slight detrimental impact, in terms of loss of sunlight and daylight to existing properties, does not outweigh the compliance with development plan and national plan policies in other respects.”
Developers LMS City Road Ltd took their case before principal planning inspector John Gray after Islington councillors threw out their plans in July last year, ruling that the building was too high, too bulky and lacking sufficient affordable social housing.
Objectors had also opposed plans to demolish the locally listed 70-74 City Road and build a nine-storey office block instead.
Now furious Bunhill ward councillor Ruth Polling – who said the listed building will be replaced with “a corporate, identikit nine-storey building” – has ordered council lawyers to scour the papers with a fine tooth comb to see if there are any grounds for appeal.
At nearly 150 metres, the tower will dwarf the London Eye, Barbican Towers and Centrepoint in Tottenham Court Road.
The main tower will have 250 flats, along with 100,000 square feet of offices, shops, bars, cafés and an underground car park – but no outdoor play space for children or balconies for residents.
Minjee Beck, who lives in Featherstone Street, said: “It’s very disappointing. The Secretary of State overturned the inspector’s findings on the nine-storey block, which make it even worse. They are building a 39-storey block in an area which is almost predominantly five and six-storey buildings.”
Cllr Polling said: “For the residents who live there it’s a nightmare. I’m absolutely horrified.
“Islington council officers and residents worked hard to make a really good case and then someone in Whitehall who has no knowledge of the local area, someone who doesn’t know the impact at all, can make a decision like this.”
She added: “This is a huge deal for Bunhill ward. It’s the biggest planning application I’ve worked on. We’re looking at huge numbers of people moving into the area. It will have an impact on the feel of the area. We’re a residential community on the fringe of the City, but we’re not part of the City.
“I’m really worried about the precedent, that it will be seen as OK to put big skyscrapers here.”
The skyscraper, backed by former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, will form part of a proposed three-building cluster around Featherstone Street and Mallow Street.
Speaking after the July inquiry, neighbour Paul Cottee said: “I don’t think a 39-storey building is appropriate for this part of the world.
“We don’t want to go down the road of having avenues of tall buildings like Shanghai, Hong Kong and Manhattan. London has its own character.”
Simon Beck, who lives in Featherstone Street, said: “The area is surprisingly village-like. This is the thin end of a large wedge of turning the area into a huge area of skyscrapers. It’s a bland, nondescript, high rise building that will become an eyesore in the coming decade.”
A spokesman for LMS’s parent company Derwent London was unavailable for comment. |
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