planning report D&P/1995d/01 5 December 2016 10 Bank Street, Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets planning application no. PA/16/02956 Strategic planning application stage 1 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 Construction of a building of 166m AOD (32 storeys) comprising 124,734sqm (GIA) of office (Use Class B1) and 293sqm (GIA) of retail (Use Class A1-A5) along with a decked promenade to the West India Dock South, access and highways works, landscaping and other associated works. The applicant The applicant is Heron Quays West Ltd (Canary Wharf Group), the planning agent is DP9 and the architect is KPF. Strategic issues summary Isle of Dogs & South Poplar Opportunity Area: The provision of a significant quantum of large floorplate office space would make a welcome contribution towards the Opportunity Area employment targets and strengthen the strategically important Canary Wharf financial centre, as well as enhancing London’s world city status, which is strongly supported. (paragraphs 14-16) Urban design and Blue Ribbon Network: The design approach is supported. The scheme would improve public access and increase activity to the dockside promenade, which is considered to outweigh the additional encroachment into the dock. (paragraphs 17-23) Transport: contributions of circa £24 million towards Crossrail and £120,000 towards cycle hire are required. (paragraphs 27-33) Recommendation That Tower Hamlets Council be advised that the principle of the proposal is strongly supported and the application complies fully with the London Plan, subject to the resolution of the issues set out in paragraph 37 of this report. page 1 Context 1 On 24 October 2016 the Mayor of London received documents from Tower Hamlets Council notifying him of a planning application of potential strategic importance to develop the above site for the above uses. Under the provisions of The Town & Country Planning (Mayor of London) Order 2008 the Mayor has until 5 December 2016 to provide the Council with a statement setting out whether he considers that the application complies with the London Plan, and his reasons for taking that view. The Mayor may also provide other comments. This report sets out information for the Mayor’s use in deciding what decision to make. 2 The application is referable under the following Categories of the Schedule to the Order 2008: Category 1B: “Development (other than development which only comprises the provision of houses, flats, or houses and flats) which comprises or includes the erection of buildings outside Central London and with a total floorspace of more than 15,000 square metres.” Category 1C: “Development which comprises or includes the erection of a building more than thirty metres high and outside the City of London.” 3 Once Tower Hamlets Council has resolved to determine the application, it is required to refer it back to the Mayor for his decision as to whether to direct refusal; take it over for his own determination; or allow the Council to determine it itself. 4 The Mayor of London’s statement on this case will be made available on the GLA website www.london.gov.uk. Site description 5 The site is located in the northern part of the Isle of Dogs, within the Canary Wharf Estate on the south side of Bank Street, between Middle Dock and South Dock. The site comprises land that was formerly occupied by low rise business units as well as part of South Dock, which would be infilled as part of the proposal. A canal runs along the eastern boundary connecting the two docks. The site is located between 1 Bank Street (under construction) and 20 Bank Street office buildings, within the main Canary Wharf cluster. 6 The site is within the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar Opportunity Area, as identified in the London Plan. The north of the Isle of Dogs is also functionally related to, but geographically distinct from, the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) for the purposes of the London Plan. Locally, the site is within Canary Wharf Major Centre and Preferred Office Location (POL), whilst South Dock is designated as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). 7 In terms of the historic environment, the site does not fall within a conservation area but nearby conservation areas include Narrow Street and West India Dock some 300 metres to the north. The Grade I listed quay wall, copings and buttresses along the south edge of Middle Dock runs close to the northern red line boundary of the site. The development would also be within the wider setting of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, as well as a number of other strategic views as set out in the Mayor’s London View Management Framework SPG. 8 The nearest section of the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) is the A1203 Limehouse Link tunnel, approximately 550 metres northwest of the site. Heron Quays Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station and Canary Wharf London Underground station (Jubilee Line) are 50 metres and 150 metres to the east of the site respectively. Canary Wharf Crossrail station, 450 metres to the northeast, is currently under construction, with services due to begin in December 2018. Five bus routes (135, page 2 277, D3, D7 and D8) operate within 450 metres of the site. The site is also accessible via the Thames Clipper service from the Canary Wharf pier at Westferry Circus. The Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of the site is excellent and rated at 6a out of a range of 1-6 (where 1 represents the lowest accessibility level and 6 the highest). Details of the proposal 9 An office-led mixed use development is proposed, comprising circa 100,000 sq.m. (gross internal area) of large floorplate B1 space to suit the needs of the financial services sector, along with circa 20,000 sq.m. of ancillary areas and 4,355 sq.m. of amenity space. Small scale ground floor retail uses (Use Class A1-A5) are also proposed along with a decked promenade over South Dock, linking in to the neighbouring scheme at 1 Bank Street. Internal atrium amenity spaces are proposed for the office workers, with large reception and ‘meet and greet’ spaces at ground floor. Parking, cycle storage and servicing would be located within the basement and accessed from Bank Street via a shared ramp with the adjacent building. The building would be 32 storeys (166 metres) high and would be largely glazed with metal fins. Improvements are also proposed to the public realm around the building. Case history 10 There is extensive planning history dating back to 2008 for office-led development (GLA reference PDU/1995), including most recently a 2014 reserved matters approval for a 26 storey building on the site comprising 105,170 sq.m. (gross internal area) office space. This approval does not meet the needs of the current office market in Canary Wharf with the purpose of this application being to increase the size of the office floorplates and the overall quantum of accommodation in response to market requirements. This necessitates some additional encroachment into South Dock, as well as an increase in height and scale. 11 The application considered here was subject to formal pre-application discussions with GLA officers, with a pre-application meeting being held on 8 June 2016. GLA officers strongly supported the principle of the proposed redevelopment of this site to include a significant quantum of office space. Strategic planning issues and relevant policies and guidance 12 The relevant issues and corresponding policies are as follows: Land use principles London Plan; Central Activities Zone SPG Urban design London Plan; Character and Context SPG Tall buildings and heritage London Plan; London View management framework SPG, Character and Context SPG, World Heritage Sites SPG Inclusive design London Plan; Accessible London: achieving an inclusive environment SPG; Sustainable development London Plan; Sustainable Design and Construction SPG; Mayor’s Climate Change Adaptation Strategy; Mayor’s Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Strategy; Mayor’s Water Strategy; Transport and parking London Plan; the Mayor’s Transport Strategy; Crossrail/CIL London Plan; Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy; Crossrail SPG. 13 For the purposes of Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the development plan in force for the area is the Tower Hamlets Core Strategy (2010) and Managing Development Document (2013), as well as the London Plan (Consolidated with Alterations since page 3 2011). The Tower Hamlets Draft Local Plan (November 2016) is also relevant. The National Planning Policy Framework and Technical Guide to the National Planning Policy Framework, are also relevant material considerations. Land use principle 14 The principle of an office-led development on this site has been established through the extensive planning history. The provision of an increased quantum of office floorspace to meet current market requirements is fully in accordance with London Plan policy, which identifies the north of the Isle of Dogs as a strategically important, globally oriented financial and business service centre. The scheme would generate around 6,770 jobs (an increase of 840 from the previous consent), which would make a significant contribution towards the minimum strategic job creation target of 110,000 new jobs in the Isle of Dogs and South Poplar Opportunity Area. The small scale retail uses would animate the public realm and would be appropriate to the town centre location. The proposed uses are therefore strongly supported. 15 It is noted that London Plan Policies 2.11 (CAZ strategic functions) and 4.3 (mixed use development and offices) require increases in office floorspace to provide for a mix of uses, including housing, unless such a mix would conflict with other policies.