Last month, Islington Council’s planning committee rejected a proposal supported by Seven Capital, which included 87 homes designed by GRID and 91 homes by Niall McLaughlin, with 91 designated for social rent.
The project also proposed a total of 210 student beds in McLaughlin’s tower and 32 beds in the existing Clerkenwell building designed by GRID.
This week, City Hall announced that London Mayor Sadiq Khan will make the final decision on the proposals, taking it out of Islington’s hands, and a public hearing will be conducted regarding the development.
Planning officials at Islington outlined 14 reasons for rejecting the controversial proposal, which involved a redesign of the locally listed 19th-century infirmary building by GRID.
Renowned architect Niall McLaughlin is behind the design of the proposed 82-meter tall tower and adjacent lower-rise structures intended for affordable housing.
In their report, planning officers indicated that McLaughlin’s designs would negatively impact the surrounding conservation area and heritage sites due to the tower’s height and the positioning of new buildings.
They also noted that the Archway Campus site was not intended for tall structures and that the proposal ‘fails to provide 50 percent on-site affordable housing without public subsidy’ or alternative solutions. Additionally, concerns were raised about insufficient information regarding biodiversity and fire safety standards.
Before the rejection, approximately 450 objections were submitted. Local MP Jeremy Corbyn had previously expressed opposition to the development, highlighting the tower’s scale and insufficient social rent housing.
Niall McLaughlin Architects stated in their planning documents that the tower should be around 30 stories tall to achieve a distinguished look and stand out from the surrounding buildings, which reach up to 18 stories.
The design team compared the skyscraper to Richard Seifert’s Centre Point, emphasizing the need for it to be significantly taller than nearby structures to create a distinctive character.
The current proposal is eight stories shorter than a previous consultation for a 35-story student accommodation tower.
Seven Capital acquired the site from Peabody in 2021 after earlier plans by Haworth Tompkins for 400 homes were not advanced.
Historic England is currently evaluating the former infirmary for potential listing.
The timeline for the mayor’s decision remains uncertain.
Seven Capital has chosen not to comment.
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