Developer Telford Homes (now Telford Living) hopes the new application for the Bethnal Green site, featuring 520 student flats and reduced building heights, fares better than HTA’s previous scheme which was refused by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in 2019 and rejected on appeal the following year.
After buying the site in 2017, Telford Homes asked HTA Design to draw up plans for 189 homes and shops to replace the 1950s LEB building with two new blocks ranging from five to 15 storeys.
However, the application for the plot in Cambridge Heath Road proved controversial. Turning down the plans, Tower Hamlets’ strategic planning committee thought the design of the housing related poorly to the neighbouring buildings, saying it was ‘out of keeping with the site context, townscape and heritage assets’.
Councillors criticised the maximum height of the development, saying the proposals would have created an ‘overbearing relationship to adjacent sites’. The affordable housing provision also came under fire. Although Telford Homes had stated that 40 per cent of the homes would be affordable, more than half of these were to be offered as intermediate housing, which clashed with the council’s policy at the time.
HTA Design’s rejected proposals for London Electricity Board building (2018), credit HTA
Heritage concerns have also been raised by The Twentieth Century Society, which has argued for the preservation of the LEB building, adding it to its Risk List in 2021 and making a failed bid for listed status when demolition was announced.
At the time, the campaign group noted that, although built by comparatively unknown architects [LK Watson and HJ Coates with chief assistant DS Knight], the 1950s headquarters for the electricity board remained a ‘quality building’ with a ‘striking’ façade.
In 2022 a second proposal for the site was drawn up by Allies and Morrison, though it was later withdrawn due to concerns over its commercial viability and changes to building regulations, which meant the fire escape strategy was no longer compliant.
Now AHMM has lodged an application for purpose-built student accommodation on behalf of Telford Living, the UK residential development arm of the Trammell Crow Company.
This latest application also includes flattening the LEB block. Planning documents state: ‘The existing office building is not considered to be a heritage asset and therefore its demolition is considered to be acceptable in principle from a heritage perspective.’
AHMM’s submitted proposal for the LEB site, credit AHMM
The documents claim the scheme will address concerns which led to the refusal of HTA’s application.
AHMM says it has looked at the mass and height of the proposed blocks, and their impact on nearby listed buildings: the Bethnal Green Library, the Church of St John on Bethnal Green and the Museum of Childhood.
The current plans include six blocks of student accommodation: the majority fronting onto the street, ranging from four to eight storeys, and one 11-storey block to the rear of the site.
Commenting on these proposals, Historic England said it welcomed the reduction in height from previous plans but that the development would still result in increased massing, which will ‘alter the established character of the area’.
Alex Taylor, senior vice-president for development investment at TCC and head of Telford Living, said: “There is a well-evidenced need for dedicated student accommodation in this area of Tower Hamlets, which is particularly close to major universities and transport connections. Our plans for 520 high-quality PBSA units will directly address this demand while delivering a thoughtfully designed building that integrates positively with the surrounding area and brings wider regeneration benefits to the local community.’
AHMM, HTA Design and The Twentieth Century Society have been approached for comment.