1950s London office block to be turned into 174-room block of flats with shared kitchen
A 1950s office block on the edge of the Barbican Estate is to be part-demolished and redeveloped to deliver a 174-room 'co-living' space. 45 Beech Street, known as Murray House though to be called Cornerstone as part of the scheme, is deemed by both the applicant and City of London Corporation officers to be no longer fit for modern office needs. It is currently largely empty.
The proposed shift to co-living, under which occupants have their own private rooms but share facilities such as kitchens, had drawn concern from local groups .City of London officers however concluded in a report that the change was acceptable and would contribute to the Corporation’s efforts to meet its housing targets. A sum of £8.5 million is also to be paid to the City towards off-site affordable housing.
The applicant, Beech Street London LLP, is backed by the developer HUB, its subsidiary HubCap, and Bridges Fund Management. Under the proposal, the top two floors will be demolished, with a new four-storey extension added in their place.
READ MORE: Warning giant 46-storey skyscraper may have 'significant effects' on Tower of London if approved
Each co-living unit will come with its own en-suite shower and kitchenette, with communal areas including a kitchen and dining room, two co-working rooms and a café. On the ninth floor, a roof terrace is proposed. The kitchen and dining room area will include 12 cooking stations and 26 dining spaces, exceeding the minimum benchmarks for such accommodation set out in the London Plan.
Several consultees, including the Barbican Association and the Barbican and Golden Lane Resident Association, submitted responses against the plans. Reasons stated included the noise and disturbance caused, the increased height of the building, and loss of daylight.
A total of 66 objections from residents were also filed, outlining concerns such as the potential transience of the proposed building’s occupants, due to them being co-living, and its design right by the Barbican Estate. At yesterday’s Planning and Transportation Committee meeting (Tuesday, September 10), Dr Alexander Wilson, representing the nearby Shakespeare Tower, was one of three people to speak against the proposal.
He told Members: “Our concerns really are about noise and there are three areas. The first is the terrace, which has already been mentioned. I would prefer the terrace not to be there, but if it is going to be there, then the 6pm restriction would be acceptable.”
Dr Wilson continued to list noise from music on the ground floor and construction as further points of concern. On the latter, he said: “It’s going to be noisy anyway, but I would like the developers to give an acknowledgement of this and work with the residents to see how the noise can be minimised.”
Queries on the level of disruption expected as a result of the proposal were not restricted to objectors. Common Councillor Jacqueline Roberts Webster in particular raised the potential impacts of construction noise on the mental health of residents. “As a local councillor, in a highly populated ward with residents, a lot of time is taken up dealing with not just residents writing in, but people really trying to manage with mental health,” she said.
'We should just deal with the problem before it becomes a problem'
Deputy Marianne Fredericks asked why the servicing hours detailed in the proposal’s conditions stipulated no servicing between 11pm and 7am, instead of 7pm and 8am, as dictated elsewhere in the City’s residential areas. “Given the density in terms of the residents here, and the new residents who are going to be living there, I think we should just deal with the problem before it becomes a problem,” she said.
Told a motion would be necessary to amend the condition, Deputy Fredericks put the suggestion to the committee, which Members agreed. Prior to voting, Deputy John Fletcher acknowledged no plan which comes before Members is ‘100 per cent perfect’, adding: “Compromises have to be made, and I think some very fair compromises have been made [with this application].” The submission was approved by the committee.
Following the meeting, Tom Stoneham, Senior Development Manager at HUB, said: “This success is a major milestone for HUB, as Cornerstone is our first office-to-living building conversion to be granted planning permission. This approach will deliver embodied carbon savings by retaining the building’s structure, but it will also breathe new life into a building that is currently underutilised and has the potential to much better serve the City and workers that want to live there.
“Cornerstone embodies our commitment to delivering places that centre on sustainability, innovation and community-focussed living. We’re now looking forward to progressing this exciting scheme to deliver a new type of home to this area, as well as an improved public realm for the benefit of the wider community.”
Get the biggest stories from around London straight to your inbox. Sign up to MyLondon's The 12 HERE for the 12 biggest stories each day.