Councillors on Tower Hamlet's strategic development committee had rejected the 1.39ha scheme in October last year despite council officers' recommendation to approve the residential-led office development for LaSalle Investment Management and Trilogy Real Estate.
SimpsonHaugh's plans involve demolishing the former Tower Hamlets Council headquarters at Mulberry Place, East India Dock, and the erection of a 30-storey tower housing 150 build-to-rent homes and a 36-storey tower with 716 student rooms.
An appeal against the rejection of the scheme, which also features a 34,900m² data centre and 5,950m² of lab workspace, was lodged in April 2023.
Issuing a decision on the plans last week (12 October), planning inspector Callum Parker said the development would deliver 'much-needed affordable housing' and jobs and that the local authority had decided not to pursue councillors' concerns over the housing tenures.
Parker said the scheme would deliver public realm improvements such as opening-up views of the listed East India Dock wall, because of the narrower footprint of the towers.
Because Tower Hamlets had not defined appropriate heights for tall buildings in the Blackwall Cluster of buildings, as designated in the London Plan, Parker said SimpsonHaugh's proposals were appropriate in the location.
And he described the existing office blocks as 'rather simple and plain early 1990s office buildings of limited architectural merit and interest.
'Little evidence has been submitted which demonstrates that the form, layout or materials of the two buildings provide any strong association with the East India Company or former dock use of the site.'
Voting five to two, the committee argued last year that proposals would have a detrimental impact on the conservation area, which includes a Grade II-listed dock wall and the Grade II*-listed East India Dock House.
Councillors had also flagged issues regarding the mix of housing tenures, which was set to be 67 per cent affordable rent and 33 per cent intermediate housing – just short of the 70/30 split recommended in the council's planning policy.
However, the council's own planning officers claimed the scheme 'had the potential to knit the townscape together' through improved public realm and pedestrian links, adding that it would 'be an improvement to the character, appearance and function of the area'.
The hybrid application submitted last year included demolition of the former home of Tower Hamlets Council. The local authority recently moved into the former Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel to designs by AHMM.
SimpsonHaugh partner Nick Owen said: 'The vision that informed our proposals is to continue the transformation of the Republic Estate to create a sustainable future for the site through the development of an exemplary mixed-use neighbourhood, integrating education and innovation spaces, shared communal amenities, and high-quality living accommodation.'
Source; Architects Journal