Out-Law News 2 min. read

Mayor of London calls in two London planning applications


London mayor Boris Johnson has called in proposals for a mixed use redevelopment in Shoreditch following a request from joint venture developers, Hammerson and Ballymore.

The developers originally submitted their planning application to both Tower Hamlets and Hackney Councils in July 2014 but received various queries and objections from the Councils and local campaign groups. Following an 18 month consultation period, the developers considered the responses and submitted a revised application in June 2015.

The main changes included a 13,000 square metre increase in office space, 108 fewer homes, a change in the mix of homes, a reduction in the height of several residential towers and additional community spaces. The revised design also replaces some of the glass exterior with bricks to ensure the redevelopment fits in with the surrounding buildings.

The consultation on the revised application was due to end in October but now Johnson has called in the application. A spokesman for the mayor of London said: "More than a year ago an application was submitted to the local authorities and a formal request has now been made to the mayor to take over as planning authority."

"Bishopsgate Goodsyard, which has stood derelict for over 50 years, is the biggest site around Tech City in east London and would create hundreds of jobs and homes for Londoners. The mayor has decided to call in the application and will consider all of the planning issues before taking a decision in due course" said the spokesman.

The mayor also called in plans for a mixed use redevelopment in east London after Tower Hamlets Council resolved to refuse to grant planning permission for the scheme.

The Blossom Street development proposes 33,040 sq m of office space. 3,550 sq m of shops, 40 apartments and public realm works. The planning officers had previously recommended granting approval for the scheme but the Planning Committee resolved not to grant planning permission.

Planning expert Victoria Lindsay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com said: "Tower Hamlets is on the receiving end here of two mayoral call-ins, a decision that has not gone down well with the borough or the other borough involved; Hackney. Clearly the mayor considers these applications to be of such strategic importance that he has stepped in to take over as planning authority. The timing is good for the applicants as the window for call-in during mayor Johnson's period of office is rapidly drawing to a close".

"The Mayor's use of his planning call-in powers has always been controversial politically," said Marcus Bate, another planning expert at Pinsent Masons. "The level of controversy has increased year on year as the mayor has increasingly exercised such powers to ensure that major developments are approved."

"What is particularly striking here though is not the fact of yet another call-in but the reason for it," said Bate. "Originally conceived as a device to enable the mayor to overturn proposed local decisions, call-in powers are now being used to accelerate the determination of planning applications. Putting aside politics, this must surely be a good thing given the acute pressures on housing supply. It is certainly a better solution than the alternative of a slow and expensive planning appeal for non-determination."

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