The City of London Corporation has approved the transformation of the former BT HQ building.
The Planning and Transportation Committee approved a planning application (20/00311/FULMAJ) to reimagine an existing building on Newgate Street, adding an additional four storeys to the current structure and re-using the granite and Portland Stone façade.
The mixed-use scheme will provide more than 67,500m2 of flexible office space, retail and leisure spaces, publicly and privately accessible roof terraces and a rooftop restaurant.
There will be a public walkway through the building improving pedestrian mobility at St Paul’s Cathedral.
The building will host several new urban greening measures such as green walls, green roofs, stepped garden terraces and the planting of 65 new trees. The development also re-uses the existing building structure in a sustainable manner.
The scheme exceeds the Mayor of London’s draft London Plan target Urban Greening Factor (UGF) score of 0.3 for commercial developments with an estimated UGF of 0.377
Alastair Moss, Chair of the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, commented: “This striking development offers significant enhancement to the gateway of Culture Mile, a vibrant cultural and creative area between Farringdon and Moorgate, and it enriches the King Edward Street view of the iconic St Paul’s Cathedral.
“Not only will the development improve aesthetics in the area, but the urban greening of this development offers many environmental benefits such as reducing pollution, absorbing sound and reducing flood risk.”
As the draft City Plan 2036 states, all developments and refurbishments are required to include a greening element to the building or public realm to contribute to improving biodiversity, rainwater run-off, air and noise pollution, temperature regulation and making the City a more visually desirable business location.
