This meeting was about deciding whether to grant planning permission for three different applications. The meeting also included a scheduled discussion of decisions that have been made by officers under delegated powers since the last meeting.

201-207 Shoreditch High Street and 1 Fairchild Street, Hackney, London, E1 6LG

One Fairchild Street Limited and Rocket Properties requested permission to build a 27 storey office building on the site of the former Fairchild Street car park, that was demolished in 2019. The proposed building would be 125m tall and include some shops at ground floor level.

The report notes that

The site is now cleared to surface level.

The report also notes the extensive pre-application work carried out on this scheme, the changes that were made during the application process, and the fact that the site had previously had permission granted for a slightly smaller development in 2016:

The proposal was submitted following extensive pre application work under a Planning Performance Agreement...The site benefits from an extant consent for development of a similar height and scale.

A number of objections were received from neighbours and groups, including Village Underground, Historic England and LB Tower Hamlets.

Village Underground objected to the proposal on the basis of the noise that would arise from the existing venue, which is located adjacent to the proposal site. Their objection states that:

Since 2007, Village Underground has been a proudly independent space for creativity and culture in the heart of Hackney...Each year, VU welcomes 100,000 people, stages more than 500 performances and works with more than 1500 artists.

Village Underground proposed a condition requiring that

The development shall be designed and constructed so that the internal noise levels in the 63Hz and 125Hz octave centre frequency bands (Leq) do not exceed (in habitable rooms) 47dB and 41dB (Leq,5min) respectively.

Historic England objected to the scheme on the basis that

the current proposals would cause harm to its character due to the visual intrusion and juxtaposition in scale of the tall building on the more modest scale of development in views along Shoreditch High Street and Great Eastern Street in particular.

LB Tower Hamlets objected to the scheme on the basis of its visual impact:

The proposed development would result in a tower element which is overly prominent in the local townscape and officers have concerns that the proposal would not be of sufficient exceptional quality architecture and design to justify its visual harm, additional to the consented scheme.

The report proposed granting planning permission subject to a Section 106 Legal Agreement and 62 planning conditions.

78-94 and 79-95 Watermint Quay, London, N16 6DN

E Reich (Avon) requested permission to add a storey to each of two blocks of flats to create four new homes. The blocks of flats are located at the eastern end of Watermint Quay, next to the River Lea in Springfield Ward.

The application proposes the erection of a roof extension to two buildings, and alterations to the elevations to provide an additional 4 flats.

The report notes the post-modern character of the existing buildings:

The blocks have a traditional / postmodern character with brick elevations and were designed by renowned architects CZWG.¹ The buildings have decorative render sections and oriel windows. CZWG are a London based firm of architects known for their striking post-modern buildings, many of which were built in London in the 1980s and 1990s.

A number of objections were received from local residents. The report notes that

At the time of writing the report, 54 objections have been received as a result of this consultation.

The report proposed to grant planning permission subject to a Section 106 legal agreement and 7 planning conditions.

1 Gainsborough Studios, Poole Street, London, N1 5ED

S Meehan of Bchitecture² requested permission to install two residential moorings on the Regent's Canal, to the rear of Gainsborough Studios. The moorings would be for narrowboats up to 50ft in length. The application site is located in Hoxton East and Shoreditch Ward.

The application proposes to install 2 x long boat moorings for C3 use (Residential).

The application site is adjacent to the East Block of Gainsborough Studios, which contains both residential and commercial units.

The site relates to a section of Regent’s Canal along the south-eastern side, north of Gainsborough Studios; a mixed-use development comprising predominantly commercial units to the lower floors with residential floorspace to the upper floors.

The report notes that this is not the first time residential moorings have been proposed at this location:

2013/3193 - Change of use of land to a mixed use for the mooring boats for residential and office use for up to 5 residential boats and 1 office with associated infrastructure including pontoons, refuse and recycling facilities, storage sheds and lighting. Granted - 23/04/2014.

The report also notes that the site has a low biodiversity value:

whilst the northern side of the canal provides greater areas of habitats, by reason of the southern side having largely been developed, with no natural vegetation within the waterway, the site is of limited ecological value to wildlife.

A number of objections were received from residents of Gainsborough Studios:

At the time of writing the report, 35 letters of representation have been received comprising following the first consultation, 17 objections and 18 letters neither supporting nor objecting to the proposal.

The report proposed to grant planning permission subject to a Section 106 Legal Agreement and 9 planning conditions.

Bchitecture are a London based architecture practice, headed up by architect Jim Biek.