A newly-approved 19-storey tower in East London would “block our daylight completely” if built, councillors have been warned.
A newly-approved 19-storey tower in Whitechapel would “block our daylight completely” if built, councillors have been warned. Resident Eloise MacDougall this week urged Tower Hamlets councillors to refuse to grant planning permission for the tower next to her home in Commercial Road.
But councillors instead voted to approve the development at a strategic development committee meeting on Tuesday (3rd). They said the promise of 13 social-rented homes would be “a very significant benefit for Tower Hamlets”.
Property partnership Gamuda Yoo wants to build the 19-storey tower block at 35A Commercial Road. This is opposite the eight-storey Dryden Building ten metres opposite the site, on the other side of Adler Street. MacDougall said the building would block daylight and views of the sky from her home in the Dryden Building. She said it would “act as a wall” outside the home they had “bought with our entire life savings”.
She said: “Our flat has four windows facing this site. They are the only windows in our home. The developer’s own report shows our windows would retain as little as 5%-9% of recommended sky visibility against a recommended guideline of 27%. Even at just eight storeys high, we would lose daylight completely.”
She added: “We bought this flat because of its light. It felt like the right place to start our life together and build a family. Nineteen storeys would overwhelm our home, affect our daily lives, our wellbeing and future plans to raise a child here.”
MacDougall said she supported new homes for people in Tower Hamlets. But she said developers should instead propose “a moderate height building”. Developer’s representatives argued that a 19-storey tower was necessary to to include a mixture of market and social housing, as well as an indoor children’s’ play area and a community space.
Niall Farmer of Gamuda Land told the committee: “Because we’re in a high-density urban location with narrow distances between buildings, the challenge is always providing something of scale that is feasible to bring forward and build that provides the right amount of affordable housing.
“That’s a conflict we’ve had to manage and unfortunately there are some injuries within that but the overall benefit of providing the affordable homes far outweighs the injuries.”
Council planning officers recommended that councillors vote to approve the building. They acknowledged that it would have “major adverse” impacts on daylight and sunlight into windows in the Dryden Building.
But they said this was “considered acceptable and appropriate, especially when weighed against the benefits”. Officers said benefits included 70 new homes, of which 13 would be for social rent, as well as the community space.
Developers have also agreed to pay £80,000 towards improving nearby Rope Walk Gardens, to make up for the lack of outdoor play space included in the development.
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the new tower.
Aspire Party committee member Ahmodur Khan said councillors “have to see the benefit” of new social housing. He said: “As a councillor, when we go to visit people and see people living so overcrowded, it breaks our hearts.”
Committee chair Amin Rahman, also from Aspire, said: “I do recognise the concerns raised particularly around the height and impact on neighbouring properties.
“However, the proposal delivers 70 new homes, including 13 social rented homes, all of which are family-sized. That is a very significant benefit for Tower Hamlets.”
He added: “The scheme also provides ground floor community space, a financial contribution towards local improvements and public enhancement. That’s why I will be supporting this application.”
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