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Dismissed30 June 20223281630

Custom House, 20 Lower Thames Street, London, EC3R 6EE

Planning appeal 3281630 at Custom House, 20 Lower Thames Street, London, EC3R 6EE (City of London Council) was dismissed on 30 June 2022 by Inspector Griffiths P, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the impact of the development/works proposed on the special architectural and historic interest (and/or significance) of the Custom House itself, and its setting, and the associated River Wall, Stairs and Cranes, and the setting of that group.

the refurbishment, extension and conversion of Custom House (including works of demolition) from office (Use Class B1) to a hotel (Use Class C1) with flexible ground floor retail floorspace (Use Classes A3 & A4), leisure facilities (Use Class D2) and ancillary riverfront public realm and works to the Custom House River Wall, Stairs and Crane, hard and soft landscaping, cycle parking, coach and taxi vehicular drop off bay, servicing, and refuse and recycling storage’. Appeal B: APP/K5030/Y/21/3281258 Custom House, 20 Lower Thames Street, London EC3R 6EE

Authority
City of London Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Inquiry
Development
other · Other Major Developments
Inspector
Griffiths P
Postcode
EC3R 6EE

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the impact of the development/works proposed on the special architectural and historic interest (and/or significance) of the Custom House itself, and its setting, and the associated River Wall, Stairs and Cranes, and the setting of that group
  • the effect of those proposals on the setting and thereby the significance of Old Billingsgate, the Monument to the Great Fire, and Tower Bridge
  • the overall approach to design, and the impact of what is proposed on various Strategic Views
  • the scale of any harm to the significance of the various designated heritage assets identified, and the weight to be attached to any public benefits that the scheme would bring forward, including questions of viability and 'optimum viable use'
  • the impact of the proposals on the living conditions of occupiers of nearby residential properties, including Sugar Quay in particular, through noise and disturbance and/or overlooking
  • whether the provisions for pedestrian and vehicular access to and around the building are acceptable

What decided it

the harm caused to the significance of the Custom House by the loss of Laing's west wing plan-form, particularly the closing off of the central lightwell, which outweighed the heritage and public benefits of the scheme.

the significant heritage benefits (optimum viable use, enhanced public access, removal of the car park/security fence) and wider public benefits (economic, employment, public realm) were weighed against the severe but less-than-substantial harm to the significance of the Grade I listed Custom House, and the balance tipped against the proposals.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
London Plan Policy HC1Local Plan Policy CS12Policy DM 12.1Policy DM 12.3
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 199Paragraph 201Paragraph 202
Judgments
London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust v Minister of State for Housing and others [2022] EWHC 829 (Admin); Bramshill; Bedford judgment

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

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