Grosvenor’s plans for its largest retrofit yet have been withdrawn from consideration by Westminster City Council’s planning committee so that concerns raised by Transport for London relating to Crossrail 2 can be addressed.
Explaining the decision to withdraw the scheme from consideration by the planning committee on 21 January, a Grosvenor spokesperson said: “TfL has raised concerns about our proposals being within an area of surface interest safeguarded for the potential future development of Crossrail 2. We are confident that these issues can be resolved quickly, allowing us to bring the scheme forward for determination in the near future.”
The plans to retrofit and extend the company’s Ebury Gate office asset at 23 Lower Belgrave Street, SW1, would have added 17,644 sq ft of office space to Belgravia – the company’s largest retrofit project yet, according to Rachel Dickie, executive director of investment and development at Grosvenor.
The proposed scheme would redevelop the existing 1980s building to create sustainable grade-A workspace within the Victoria Opportunity Area. The Morrow + Lorraine-designed all-electric plans aim to be “visibly green” and to achieve BREEAM Excellent and NABERS five-star ratings.
However, according to Crossrail 2 safeguarding directions published in 2015, the asset falls within the Crossrail 2 safeguarding area, which seeks to protect land designated for the second phase of the Crossrail infrastructure project.
This means that Westminster council is required to consult TfL, as the local government body responsible for transport, when considering planning applications within the safeguarded area.
Westminster council did so on 3 January, according to planning documents, but no response is registered in the planning portal. The report published by planning officers ahead of the meeting stated that any response from Crossrail 2 would “be reported verbally to committee”.
Although in most cases TfL will not provide a comment, according to the Crossrail 2 website, it may require certain conditions to be imposed on developers. In more extreme circumstances where a conflict cannot be resolved, TfL will recommend that the local planning authority refuses planning permission.
A TfL spokesperson said: “TfL set out that the site is within the land currently safeguarded for the potential Crossrail 2. We are always happy to discuss what impact the statutory safeguarding of Crossrail 2 by the secretary of state would have with any development, and we are discussing the application with Westminster City Council and Grosvenor with a view to a way forward while protecting Crossrail 2 for the future.
“Discussions continue with the new government to refresh the Crossrail 2 safeguarding directions, which protects the land required from development that could impact the delivery of the scheme.”
Image: Ebury Gate © Morrow + Lorraine
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