LaSalle Investment Management and Lipton Rogers Developments have gained consent for their contentious plans for a near 1 million-square-foot-office-led redevelopment of 1 Silk Street in the City of London.
In February the duo submitted substantial revisions to architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill's plans that they said responded directly to feedback during the consultation process, while "reinforcing the project’s core vision".
City planning documents report there have been over 1,850 consultation responses since the original plans were submitted, including 1,827 objections from a range of stakeholders, including statutory consultees, residents, amenity groups and other organisations.
That is because the surrounding buildings are complex and sensitive. Planners write: "The seminal residential and mixed-use Barbican Estate complex lies directly to the west and south. The former Whitbread Brewery, now a hotel and entertainment complex, is to the north. Both of these benefit from multiple heritage designations. The residential Heron Tower is to the east."
The plans were backed by 16 members to 11 at today's City Corporation planning committee meeting. Ahead of the meeting planners said: "As the proposals would comply with the Development Plan when read as a whole, and as other material planning considerations weigh in favour of the proposal, officers recommend that planning permission and listed building consent should be granted as set out in the recommendation and the schedules attached."
The decision is one of the first major projects facing significant objections to be decided since Tom Sleigh took over as chair of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee a year ago.
A key change to the original is a reduction in height and massing, most notably a reduction of more than 10 metres to the western side of the building. This brings it to three storeys above the height of the existing building facing the Barbican's Cromwell Tower, compared with six storeys in the previous scheme. The changes reduce the building’s visual impact on the wider Barbican Estate and the church. The proposed building’s height on the eastern side remains the same at 21 storeys. Architectural refinements across the scheme also reduce daylight and privacy impacts for nearby homes.
The changes result in a 5% loss in office floorspace. The scheme now comprises 91,142 square metres (981,000 square feet) of commercial space with large floorplates targeting companies seeking substantial trading floors.
The proposals seek to redevelop the existing building, which is being vacated by its sole occupier, law firm Linklaters. The partners say the existing building is no longer capable of supporting modern commercial occupiers and will fail to meet minimum energy requirements.
At ground level, there will be a pedestrian route linking Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations directly to the Barbican, and 13,993 square feet of retail, service and restaurant uses.
There will be a cultural space Silk Street Hall for live performance and a community space called the Creative Community Lab. Itt will provide an expanded home for the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. A pedestrian arcade called Ropemaker Street will provide a new route from Liverpool Street and Moorgate to the Barbican Centre.
The partners say the revised plans significantly reduce daylight impacts to neighbouring homes following changes to height, massing and facade design. Terraces on the western part of the building have been removed to prevent overlooking and improve privacy for neighbouring residents and new obscured glass panels have been added to parts of the facade to limit views into nearby properties and provide more privacy.
The western part of the building has been realigned to create 25,000 square feet of public space, including a new plaza at the Barbican Art Centre’s main entrance.
Linklaters signed a prelet in 2020 at 20 Ropemaker for 14 floors equating to 328,192 square feet, with plans to relocate from 1 Silk Street in 2026, with the option of increasing the space. It later committed to taking floors 15 to 17 at the 450,000-square-foot building, brought forward by Old Park Lane Management and Co-re, for a further 50,000 square feet.
Gary Moore, head of international accounts, Europe at LaSalle Investment Management, said in a statement: “Securing this resolution is a crucial step in delivering this landmark development that will provide much-needed, well-connected, exceptional office space in the City of London.”
Sir Stuart Lipton, Founding Partner at Lipton Rogers Developments, added: “We are delighted with the Planning Application Sub-Committee’s resolution to grant planning permission for 1 Silk Street – a decision that reflects the scheme’s exceptional commercial and cultural ambition. Located steps from two Elizabeth line stations, on one of the few remaining sites in the Square Mile capable of delivering larger floorplates, it provides the exact quality and scale of commercial space the market demands in the City, while giving the Guildhall School a new, expanded home and opening the whole site to the wider community.”
Kent Jackson, partner at architects SOM, added: “Our design enhances connections between the public realm and the community through a new plaza that reimagines the entrance to the Barbican Centre, framed by new pedestrian routes and cultural amenities. Alongside this, new office space supports the continued growth and long-term ambitions of the Square Mile.”
Sleigh said: “The scheme that was approved by the committee was a stronger one than the early proposals, shaped by a long period of pre-application work and consultation with residents and statutory consultees.
“The daylight impact on Barbican homes and the way the building meets the street were both reworked along the way. What it now delivers is a much needed, high-quality workspace, with the retention of much of the existing structure rather than demolition.
“Crucially, it will also transform the public realm around the Barbican, with a new public route and plaza, open to all, creating a more welcoming, inclusive environment, with new cultural and community spaces that increase the City’s vibrancy across the week.”