100, 106-107 Leadenhall Street in the City of London Planning Application No
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planning report GLA/4417/02 13 August 2018 100, 106-107 Leadenhall Street in the City of London planning application no. 18/00152/FULEIA Strategic planning application stage II referral Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended); Greater London Authority Acts 1999 and 2007; Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008. The proposal Demolition of existing buildings and construction of a ground plus 56 storey building (263.4 metres AOD) for office use, retail use at lower levels, a publicly accessible viewing gallery and restaurant/bar at levels 55/56. The applicant The applicant is Frontier Dragon Ltd, and the architects are Skidmore, Ownings and Merrill LLP. Key dates Pre- application meeting: 18 October 2017 Stage 1 report: 16 April 2018 City of London Corporation Committee meeting: 10 July 2018 Strategic issues update Mix of uses: The publicly accessible viewing gallery has been secured. Urban Design: Issues regarding street scene and public realm have been addressed. Historic Environment: The development would not compromise the ability to appreciate the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage Sites and would not cause harm to the historic environment. Transport: Conditions and obligations secured including circa £12 million contribution to Crossrail. Climate change: outstanding issues resolved. The Council’s decision In this instance the City of London Corporation has resolved to grant planning permission. Recommendation That the City of London be advised that the Mayor is content for it to determine the case itself, subject to any action that the Secretary of State may take, and does not therefore wish to direct refusal or direct that he is to be the local planning authority. page 1 Context 1 On 19 March 2018 the Mayor of London received documents from the City of London Corporation notifying him of a planning application of potential strategic importance to develop the above site for the above uses. This was referred to the Mayor under Categories 1B and 1C of the Schedule to the Order 2008: • 1B(c): ‘Development (other than development which only comprises the provision of houses, flats or houses and flats) which comprises or includes the erection of a building or buildings in the City of London and with a total floorspace of 100,000 square metres’. • 1C(c):’ Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building of more than 150 metres highs and is within the City of London’. 2 On 16 April 2018 the Mayor considered planning report GLA/4417/01, and subsequently advised the City of London Corporation that the application did not comply with the London Plan, for the reasons set out in paragraph 57 of the above-mentioned report; but that the possible remedies set out in that paragraph could address those deficiencies. 3 A copy of the above-mentioned report is attached. The essentials of the case with regard to the proposal, the site, case history, strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance are as set out therein, unless otherwise stated in this report. On 10 July 2018, the City of London Corporation resolved to grant planning permission subject to planning conditions and conclusion of a Section 106 agreement. The Corporation advised the Mayor of this decision on 01 August 2018. Under the provisions of Article 5 of the Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor may allow the draft decision to proceed unchanged; direct the Corporation under Article 6 to refuse the application; or, issue a direction to the Corporation under Article 7 that he is to act as the Local Planning Authority for the purposes of determining the application (and any connected application). The Mayor has until 15 August 2018 to notify the Corporation of his decision and to issue any direction. 4 The environmental information for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 has been taken into account in the consideration of this case. 5 The Mayor’s decision on this case, and the reasons will be made available on the GLA’s website www.london.gov.uk. Consultation stage issues summary 6 At the initial consultation stage, the City of London was advised that the application did not comply with the London Plan, for the reasons set out below. The Corporation was advised that the resolution of these issues could lead to the application becoming compliant with the London Plan. • Principle of development: The proposed development would respond to established demand for office space within the CAZ, and would support London’s continuing function as a World City. It is therefore strongly supported in accordance with London Plan and draft London Plan Policies. The publicly accessible viewing gallery on levels 55 and 56 must be secured. • Design: This is an appropriate location for a tall building and the high architectural quality proposed is fitting for a development of this scale and prominence. Further detail is nevertheless required regarding the elevational treatment of lower floors and public connections around the site. page 2 • Strategic Views: The development would reinforce and enhance the characteristics of strategic views through an improved consolidation of the City’s eastern cluster and complies with London Plan Policy 7.12 and Policies HC3 and HC4 of the draft London Plan. • Historic Environment: The development would not compromise the ability to appreciate the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage Sites and would not cause harm to the historic environment. Accordingly, the application complies with London Plan Policies 7.8, 7.10, 7.11 and 7.12 and draft London Plan Policies HC1, HC2 and HC3. • Energy: The applicant must explore the potential for connection to the City 2 district heat network. Additional information relating to the light transmittance of the proposed glazing, the use of two plant rooms as opposed to one and the full ‘be lean’ and ‘be green’ BRUKL sheets must be submitted. this further information must be submitted before the proposals can be considered acceptable and the carbon dioxide savings verified. • Transport: Further information is required on cycle parking. Conditions and Section 106 obligations are required to secure the following; formal consultation of TfL on the Section 278 agreement; post occupation trip generation monitoring contribution; Crossrail contribution; cycling improvements contribution; legible London Signage contribution; Cycle Hire contribution; public realm access, restrictions on delivery and servicing times; 24-hour access to blue badge parking; details of cycle parking; travel plan; delivery and servicing plan; and construction and logistics plan. Strategic planning policy and guidance update 7 In July 2018, the Government published the revised National Planning Policy Framework. Update 8 Since Stage 1, GLA officers have reviewed further information, and engaged in discussions with the City of London Corporation and the applicant with a view to addressing the above matters. Furthermore, as part of the City of London’s draft decision on the case, various planning conditions and obligations have been proposed to ensure that the development is acceptable in planning terms. Principle of development 9 Since Stage 1, the applicant has reconfigured the layout of the publicly accessible viewing gallery on level 55 to maximise 360 degree views of London by reducing the size of the ‘support space’ in response to concerns raised by GLA and City Planning officers. The provision of the public viewing gallery and details of its operation have been secured in the S106 agreement in accordance with the details set out in the S106 agreement (which includes opening hours of the viewing gallery between 10.00 to18.00 hours Monday to Sunday including Bank Holidays (and closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day), seven permitted closure days per calendar year and a maximum of capacity of 360 members of the public at any one time during the opening hours). Conditions have been secured to ensure an inclusive space for the public including the submission and approval of details of internal layout, extent of catering facilities, the look and feel of the interior and reception areas and visitor management. 10 Given the location of the site within one of London’s strategic financial and business centres, the inclusion of residential uses within the scheme was not considered desirable. In such cases, the City Corporation’s Planning Obligations SPD requires office development to make a financial contribution towards affordable housing off-site. A financial contribution of £1,756,920 has been secured in the S106 agreement. This will be invested in the City Corporation’s London- wide affordable housing programme. page 3 Urban Design 11 At stage 1, the high-quality architecture was noted as was the principle of opening up the site to provide links between Billiter Street and 30 St Mary’s Axe. GLA officers requested that the applicant submit street level views to demonstrate that the high-quality design of the building continued down to street level ensuring that a human scale was retained. In addition, the applicant was asked to explore alternative servicing options. 12 The applicant submitted ground level CGI’s that demonstrated that the Leadenhall Street frontage which consists of limestone street block facades provides an appropriate contextual response reflecting the tight urban grain that characterises Leadenhall Street. 13 With regards to the potential conflict between the pedestrian route to the rear of the site and the servicing route, while alternatives were considered, servicing to the rear was considered to be the best option. A servicing consolidation strategy has been secured to reduce and manage the number of vehicle movements travelling to the site as well as manage the vehicle type and size requiring consolidation. The reduction in service vehicle movements in the immediate locality would mean less potential conflict with residents and cyclists particularly during peak times.