City approves towers despite 1,000 objections

The former base of a Magic Circle law firm opposite the Barbican Centre will be demolished and replaced with a 20-storey block and a 16-storey one next to it.

The One Silk Street scheme was approved by the City of London Corporation's planning committee and includes a new square and retail and cultural spaces.

Concerns about the proposal by Lipton Rogers Developments and LaSalle Investment Management included the height of the new blocks and the impact on the nearby Grade II listed Barbican Estate, even after the scale was reduced following an outcry this year.

The application received more than 1,000 objections during consultation.

The original proposal for the 1980s block, which was home to the Linklaters law firm, would have seen the existing structure knocked down and replaced with a new building composed of two 20-storey towers.

The backlash meant the designs were scaled back with one of the blocks reduced to 16 storeys plus a ground floor, still three taller than the current building, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Changes included a new plaza at the Barbican Centre's entrance and a pedestrian route linking Moorgate and Liverpool Street with the estate and the amount of office space was also cut, though it will still see an increase of around 43% based on the existing structure.

Objections, which constitute the majority of the 1,850 responses received, began flooding in soon after the application went live, the LDRS said.

In a 571-page report, Corporation officers recommended the scheme be approved, claiming there would be a "less than substantial" harm to heritage assets with benefits including more office floor space.

Robin Pembrooke, co-ordinator at the BQA, told the meeting on Thursday "the balance of harms outweighs the benefits" and claimed it was "unnecessarily harmful".

He said it would affect nearby residents and suggested the benefits of the proposed scheme could be delivered with a smaller building, warning that if constructed as planned it would be an "unruly neighbour".

Gary Moore, fund manager at LaSalle Investments, assured members the firm were not intending to be "short-term owners" of the site and said the proposed public realm upgrades would deliver "a new front door for the Barbican".

The application was also endorsed by Prof Jonathan Vaughan of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which is the preferred cultural operator for the site.

He said opportunities for extra space in the City are rare, and that the proposal would enable the school to "provide competitive-edge, 21st century performing arts training in an ever-demanding marketplace".

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