®Planning appeal decision
New City Court, 4-26 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RS
Planning appeal 3290473 at New City Court, 4-26 St Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RS (London Borough of Southwark) was dismissed on 16 January 2023 by Inspector Searson C, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: Townscape character and appearance.
Demolition of 1980s office buildings and erection of a tall office-led building (37 storeys, Appeal A; 26 storeys, Appeal C) with restoration of the listed Georgian terrace and redevelopment of Keats House, plus associated listed building consent for restoration/rebuilding works to the terrace (Appeals B and D)
- Authority
- London Borough of Southwark
- Appeal type
- major · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Inquiry
- Development
- employment-industrial · Major offices/R&D/light industry
- Inspector
- Searson C
- Postcode
- SE1 9RS
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- Townscape character and appearance
- Architectural design and quality
- Public realm
- Context and character
- Heritage assets
- Servicing
What decided it
The public benefits of the 2018 and 2021 schemes were found, under the NPPF paragraph 202 balance, not to outweigh the identified less than substantial heritage harm and townscape harm, leading to dismissal of Appeals A and C, whereas the absence of any harm from the physical listed building works themselves was decisive in allowing Appeals B and D.
For Appeals A and C, the significant public benefits (office floorspace, jobs, affordable workspace, public realm, sustainable transport and heritage restoration) were outweighed by considerable weight given to heritage harm and significant weight to townscape harm, so the balance tipped against the proposals; for Appeals B and D, no harm was found from the listed building works, so no balancing exercise was needed to refuse consent.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- LP Policy GG2LP Policy GG5LP Policy SD1LP Policy SD4LP Policy SD5LP Policy SD6LP Policy E1LP Policy E3LP Policy D3LP Policy D9LP Policy HC1LP Policy HC2LP Policy HC3LP Policy HC4LP Policy T2LP Policy T7SP Policy AV11SP Policy ST1SP Policy ST2SP Policy SP4SP Policy P13SP Policy P14SP Policy P17SP Policy P19SP Policy P20SP Policy P24SP Policy P30SP Policy P31SP Policy P50SP Policy P56
- National Planning Policy Framework
- Paragraph 8Paragraph 18Paragraph 56Paragraph 57Paragraph 81Paragraph 111Paragraph 112Paragraph 126Paragraph 130Paragraph 134Paragraph 199Paragraph 200Paragraph 201Paragraph 202Paragraph 203Paragraph 207
- Judgments
- The London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust v The Minister of State for Housing [2022] EWHC 829 (Admin)
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 appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
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What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in London Borough of Southwark
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2023
- Allowed20 October 20266010489269-275 Rye Lane and 1A Philip Walk, London, SE15 4UA
- Dismissed30 September 202660018595 More London Place, London, SE1 2BY
- Dismissed29 September 20266003226Flat 4, 99 Kennington Park Road, London, SE11 4JJ
- Dismissed16 September 20266012237123 Benhill Road, London, SE5 7LZ
- Dismissed17 August 20266007608134 Tappesfield Road, London, SE15 3EZ
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.