The Islington Planning Committee met on 12 January 2026 to discuss two significant planning applications. The committee granted planning permission for a new energy centre at Whittington Hospital and approved a variation to a condition for a roof terrace at 1 Torrens Street, London EC1V 1NY.

Whittington Hospital Energy Centre

The committee granted planning permission for the erection of a new five-storey building at Whittington Hospital to house an energy centre, bulk storage facilities, and office accommodation. The proposal, which represents a departure from the development plan due to the height of the flues exceeding 30 metres, was approved subject to conditions and a Section 106 agreement.

The new building will upgrade the hospital's electrical infrastructure and provide standby generators for emergency power continuity. It will also consolidate existing logistics and storage space, displaced by the redevelopment of the maternity and neonatal unit, and provide relocated office accommodation for hospital staff.

Concerns were raised by residents regarding air quality and noise impacts from the emergency generators. The Whittington Health NHS Trust stated that the generators are a critical piece of infrastructure required for patient safety and that the proposed generators modernise existing infrastructure. The Trust also highlighted that the flue height of 32.5 metres is designed for effective dispersion in line with air quality objectives.

The committee was advised that the proposal would deliver essential infrastructure to ensure the continued operation of the hospital, improve ancillary office floor space and bulk storage, and provide a high-quality new building with an improved relationship to the street. While there are some impacts on neighbouring residential amenity in terms of loss of daylight, these were considered to be outweighed by the benefits, including improvements to air quality and plant noise.

1 Torrens Street Roof Terrace Variation

The committee approved an application under Section 73 to vary Condition 12 of a previous planning consent at 1 Torrens Street. The variation sought to extend the opening hours of the upper roof terrace from 6pm to 10pm, Monday to Friday, and to approve an updated Operational Management Plan (OMP).

The original consent, granted in December 2022, included a condition restricting the use of the roof terrace to between 8am and 6pm and requiring an OMP to manage noise and disturbance. The applicant, Tishman Speyer, sought to extend these hours for the upper terrace, arguing that it would provide an improved amenity for office occupiers.

Thirteen objections were received from neighbouring residents, primarily concerning noise, disturbance, light pollution, and a perceived erosion of the original consent's safeguards. The OMP submitted by the applicant detailed measures such as a 24/7 security presence, a prohibition on amplified music, limits on occupancy to 60 people, and specific management of furniture to mitigate noise. The OMP also included a complaints procedure for residents.

The council's Neighbourhood Engagement Team confirmed no objection to the proposal, stating that the proposed management procedures, combined with the distances involved and the setback nature of the upper roof terrace, would not result in unacceptable noise and disturbance. The approved lighting scheme, previously discharged under a separate condition, was also considered robust enough to prevent light pollution. The committee was satisfied that the proposed amendment would not give rise to additional harm and was sufficiently minor in nature to be considered a material amendment. The approval was subject to conditions and a deed of variation to the original Section 106 agreement.