微密圈

Great Portland Estates is 鈥渃onsidering further amendments鈥� to an office scheme next to the Shard which has been bogged down in planning delays for six years due to a row over its height.

The developer said it is 鈥渋n the process of reviewing proposals鈥� for the redevelopment of St Thomas Yard, a 10-storey scheme designed by Orms which was originally submitted as a 37-storey tower.

It comes three days after Southwark council deferred a planning decision on the application and ordered GPE to make changes to the design to address concerns about the building鈥檚 impact on nearby heritage assets.

The revised application had been recommended for approval ahead of Tuesday evening鈥檚 committee meeting but was met with opposition by councillors and was on the verge of being refused before the committee chair opted to push back a final decision to October.

It follows two rejections for taller versions of the scheme designed by AHMM which were taken to the Planning Inspectorate by GPE and eventually refused in 2023 by then communities secretary Michael Gove.

GPE said it is 鈥済rateful for the diligent work of planning officers in preparing a comprehensive report and positive recommendation for the current application 鈥� based on a balanced judgement of public benefits and heritage harms and in the context of the Planning Inspectorate鈥檚 judgements on previous applications, which determined that the site is suitable for a tall building. This was also endorsed by the secretary of state.

鈥淕PE is considering further amendments/clarifications to address concerns raised by committee members and remains in constructive dialogue with planning officers.鈥�

Heritage assets in the vicinity of the site include the grade II*-listed Guy鈥檚 Hospital building while the site itself includes a row of grade II-listed Georgian town houses which would be refurbished under Orms鈥� proposals.

Despite the drastic reduction in height in the latest application, GPE鈥檚 third for the site, Historic England has said the scheme would 鈥渟till fail to respond to the character and appearance of the Borough High Street Conservation Area through its overbearing scale, massing and acontextual design.鈥�

On Tuesday, planning committee vice chair Kath Whittam asked GPE: 鈥淵ou have had two designs rejected, yet you still insist in having a building which is surrounded by smaller buildings, detracting from [their] beauty. Why don鈥檛 you learn from those two rejections?鈥�

She added: 鈥淭his building should nestle between the other buildings. It shouldn鈥檛 be the star of the show.鈥� 

Mace had been working on the original towers plan, which were understood to be worth around 拢200m, but the new work will go out to tender.

Firms that have been retained for the scheme include project manager Gardiner & Theobald, structural engineer AKT II and QS T&T Alinea.

The team also includes MRG Studio as landscape architect, DP9 on planning, The Townscape Consultancy on heritage, Velocity on transport, GIA on daylight, Ashton Fire as fire engineer and Chapman BDSP as services engineer.