Weekly planning news from the central London boroughs

A weekly round up of the latest planning and property news from the central London boroughs

Camden 

Architect’s Journal reports that residents will cast their vote in a ballot this week on whether they agree with Camden Council’s plan to knock down and rebuild the 316 home West Kentish Town Estate on Grafton Road with a ‘likely minimum’ of 800 new homes. The north London council agreed its preferred option of ’High Intervention’ – full demolition – at a meeting last summer but under the GLA’s regeneration rules must now ballot residents to see if they agree. The regeneration would re-provide the existing council homes and include a minimum of 40 per cent affordable units.

Building Desing reports that Alison Brooks Architects has revealed proposals for a housing scheme in King’s Cross featuring two brick-clad towers of 15 and 11 storeys and distinctive arched windows. Named Cadence the 103-home development will fill a plot at the top of Lewis Cubitt Park, close to Thomas Heatherwick’s Coal Drops Yard. The development is expected to be completed by autumn 2022.

Hackney 

Hackney Citizen reports Hackney Council is this year preparing to remove combustible external wall insulation (EWI) from the last of its residential buildings found not to meet post-Grenfell building standards.The last building with insulation still to be removed is Seaton Point on Nightingale Estate, with the Town Hall assuring residents that “work is just about to commence” and stressing that the insulation “does not pose a fire risk”.

Lambeth

EG reports that, Foxtons founder Jon Hunt’s Ocupis has appointed CBRE to sell a 600 bedroom luxury hotel site on Albert Embankment, SE1, for more than £65m. Last autumn a £60m offer was tabled for the site, but rejected in the hope of a bigger offer once consent for the new scheme, known as Vox, was received. Ocubis received planning permission for the 25 storey hotel from the London Borough of Lambeth last month.

Se1 reports that the South Bank entrance/exit to Waterloo Underground Station in York Road will reopen in March after more than three months’ closure for urgent works to the new block of flats above.

Lewisham 

Architects Journal reports that Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) has been picked to build a permanent housing development on the plot of RSHP’s PLACE/Ladywell pop-up homes scheme in Lewisham.  The practice was appointed by Lewisham Homes, the social housing provider for Lewisham Council, to develop designs for a 200-home project on the former Ladywell Leisure Centre site currently occupied by the temporary, modular RSHP scheme.

Newham 

City AM reports that City Hall has confirmed its plans to spend £437.5m over the next five years to fund a new culture and education hub across the Stratford waterfront. The £1.1bn East Bank development will be the home of a new Sadler’s Wells theatre, BBC music studios, a new Victoria and Albert Museum museum and campuses for University College London and University of the Arts London College of Fashion. Plans for the site, being managed by Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, also include the construction of 600 new homes.

Southwark

Se1 reports that Cllr Peter John is stepping down as leader of Southwark Council after nearly a decade at the helm of the borough. A new leader will be elected by the Labour group on 25 March. In his resignation letter, Cllr John said: “Our decade of delivery would not have been possible without the support of fellow councillors, an amazing team of officers, and friends and partners right across Southwark and London.

EG reports that, the GLA approved Grosvenor’s revised plans for its £973m build to rent scheme in Bermondsey following a boost in affordable housing. Affordable housing has risen to 35% of habitable rooms of which 30% would be as social rented flats, with the remaining 70% at discount market rent. The developer hopes to get building work underway “as soon as possible”, with a summertime start likely once a contractor has been appointed.

Construction Enquirer reports that phase 2 of the £1bn London Bankside Yards scheme has been approved. The Eastern Yards phase consists of five buildings ranging from seven to 34 storeys tall. These will deliver 550,000 sq ft of the 1.4m sq ft Bankside Yards site by the Thames. The latest approval for the former site of Sampson House paves the way for 341 new homes, a 5-star, 126-bed hotel, together with office space.

Tower Hamlets 

Building Design reports architect Henley Halebrown’s affordable housing scheme has been approved. The £18.5m development in Bow will feature 68 flats all of which will be affordable.

EG reports that Far East Consortium has joined forces with Sainsbury’s to deliver a resi-led mixed use scheme at Whitechapel Square, E1.

Westminster 

Architects Journal reports that the London Festival of Architecture has launched a contest to design a pair of £20,000 benches along the Westminster riverbank. The empowering Platforms competition seeks ‘fresh and engaging’ proposals for new demountable seating solutions which could occupy different locations between Victoria Embankment Gardens and Chelsea Bridge this summer before being potentially permanently installed. The competition is supported by Westminster City Council and Northbank BID.

EG reports that Astrea Asset Management has secured consent to transform the former headquarters of the National Cash Register into a contemporary 120,000 sq ft HQ building. The 1930s building at 206 Marylebone Road will feature a new top floor with 2,000 sq ft communal terrace, floorplates of 20,000 sq ft, a 4,500 sq ft reception and more than 10,000 sq ft of external terraces.

The Construction Index reports that Mace has agreed terms with developer Sellar for main construction works on the Paddington Square development in Paddington for a £350 million contract. Also joining the construction team are Focchi as cladding contractor and William Hare as the steelwork contractor.

Property Funds World reports that real estate agent, Aston Chase, says a new survey undertaken by galliard Homes highlights that there are now nine new residential/residential-led mixed use developments on or adjacent to Oxford Street. Combined they have a Gross Development Value of £1.06 billion and provide a combined total of 437 private sale apartments and penthouses, alongside 84,939 sqft of new retail outlets and over 365,800 sq ft of new office premises.

Property Week reports that CBRE GI has sold West End office and retail building Eagle House two years after putting it up for sale. The £55m sale to family office McTaggart family and Partners reflects a yield of 4%. The 108-110 Jermyn Street building comprises 40,077 sq ft of space across a basement, ground and six upper floors split between office and retail usage.

Constructor Enquirer reports that Strucktor Mechanical Engineering has been awarded the mechanical infrastructure package on the £460m Raffles hotel site in central London. Main contractor Ardmore is converting the Old War Office building in Whitehall into a luxury Raffles hotel and super-prime flats.

Property Week reports that Cola Holdings is planning to put the Westbury Hotel in Mayfair on sale for a price tag north of £300m. Cola is understood to put the Westbury on the market once the sale of its more famous neighbour The Ritz is completed. The company is looking to cash in on growing investor appetite from the Far East for trophy London hotels.