Notes to Editors

1.    On 4 November 2021, Secretary of State. Michael Gove told MPs “We want to have a planning system where people can feel confident that beauty is taken seriously, confident that the environment is benefitting, confident that the money will be there to support infrastructure, and confident that the community has a role ultimately in determining what is right”. He added, “We want to be in a position where communities accept and welcome new development”. [Source: Planning Resource 12 November 2021].

2.    The Secretary of State recently upheld the protection of residential daylight and sunlight afforded by the British Research Establishment (BRE) standards in his decision on nearby 8 Albert Embankment, see https://bit.ly/3xC2s5e

3.    The former London Television Centre site at 72 Upper Ground was secured by Mitsubishi Estate and CO-RE for £145.6m in November 2019. The application for planning consent was submitted to Lambeth Council in July 2021. The scheme is designed by Make Architects.

4.    National Theatre Grade 2* and IBM Grade 2 are listed buildings and designed by Sir Denys Lasdun, situated to the west of the site. To the south are Coin Street’s Iroko and Mulberry Housing Co-operatives and to the east are Prince’s Wharf, Gabriel’s Wharf, and Bernie Spain Gardens. See images below.

5.    Neighbourhood planning (enshrined in the Planning Acts of 2012 and 2017) gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. Neighbourhood planning provides a powerful set of tools for local people to plan for the types of development to meet their community’s needs and where the ambition of the neighbourhood is aligned with the strategic needs and priorities of the wider local area. Source: legislation.gov.uk

6.    South Bank & Waterloo Neighbours (SoWN) was established under the above planning acts. In its advice to Lambeth, SoWN states “the mass of the proposed building would be overbearing when experienced from neighbouring streets and public spaces. The proposed building would dominate the local street scene and the conservation area to their detriment. The scale and form of the building would cause harm to important local heritage assets, such as the South Bank conservation area, IBM Building, National Theatre, and Roupell Street conservation area. The proposed building would result in a significant loss of daylight for a number of local residents. The proposed building would result in a very significant loss of sunlight across important public spaces, primarily the Queen’s Walk and Bernie Spain Gardens”.

SoWN is the community body that represents residents, workers, businesses of all sizes, and voluntary organisations in the South Bank & Waterloo Neighbourhood Plan, formally approved in February 2020. SoWN was responsible for the wide consultation involved in identifying the key issues, for writing the Plan and seeing it through to adoption. It represents the local community in monitoring how the plan is implemented, within the wider context of the Lambeth Local Plan and the London Plan.  SoWN objectives are to:

• To promote high standard of planning and architecture in or affecting the area of benefit.
• To educate the public in the geography, history, natural history, culture and architecture of the area of benefit
• To secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of feature or areas of historic or public interest in the area of benefit.

7.    The Twentieth Century Society “considers the currently proposed new building to be an over-development of a site within a sensitive historic environment. Compared to the existing building, the massing of the proposed new building will be further forward on the riverfront side. The new development will impact close views of the listed buildings from the Queen’s Walk and it will also impede wide views, particularly views of the National Theatre from Blackfriars Bridge to the east…The Society’s Casework Committee believes the proposed new building in its current form would harm the setting of the listed buildings on the site and harm the special character and appearance of the riverfront site, which is both a designated conservation area and positive contributor to a strategic view in London. We therefore urge the local authority to refuse planning permission and encourage the applicant to revise the design to substantially reduce the building’s front massing.”

8.    Historic England states in its advice to Lambeth: “There would be harm to the Grade II listed IBM building and Grade II listed National Theatre because of the close proximity of the proposed buildings and their impact on the importance of these designated heritage assets in river views. We have identified further harm through the 26-storey tower on the Roupell Street Conservation Area, through an increase in height and massing which compete with and distract from the Georgian domestic architecture in views within the conservation area…We continue to encourage you to explore refinements to the design to minimise the harm identified, including careful consideration being given to a reduction in the height and massing of the proposed buildings.”

9.    The Planning Application and public responses can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3CyoiHR

Before and after images showing how the bulk of the new build will dominate the London skyline, the mass exceeding the current former ITV studios tower with its proposed replacement throwing homes into shadow and dwarfing nearby Grade 2 listed London landmarks.

Predicted overshadowing of the riverside walkway and Bernie Spain Gardens. Images extracted from the developer’s 72 Upper Ground planning application: Environmental Statement, July 2021.

Views from: Stamford Street (left and middle) and Upper Ground (right). Computer generated images of the proposed development extracted from the 72 Upper Ground planning application: Environmental Statement, July 2021