A scheme to redevelop the Bishopsgate Goodsyard, the 4.7 hectare (11.6 acre) site surrounding Shoreditch High Street overground station, was last week submitted for planning by joint venture partners Hammerson and Ballymore. Local residents’ OPEN Shoreditch launched a major campaign – More Light, More Power – to lobby for a reappraisal of the site and to protect the vibrancy and character of the neighbourhood from the threat of generic high rise towers.The proposed scheme disregards the local context and is not fit for purpose, but rather is oversized and underwhelming.
The submitted scheme is an imposing and impenetrable development of six towers ranging from 15 to 48 storeys, bringing Hong Kong-style skyscrapers to an historic low-rise residential part of East London. The development is 40 storeys taller than the mid-rise TEA Building, a local landmark and exemplar regeneration scheme that has fostered Shoreditch’s creative community. It is 23 storeys taller than the adjacent Carbuncle Cup-shortlisted Avant Garde Tower on Bethnal Green Road, which threatens to set a precedent for generic high rise in the neighbourhood. The proposed heights will loom over the neighbourhood, cause significant shadowing and wind tunnels and destroy the character of the surrounding streets, the majority of which are in designated Conservation Areas.
Chief among concerns is the height of the towers, as well as the scheme’s failure to outline any affordable housing provision or provide adequately for independent SME commercial uses, the lifeblood of the Shoreditch business community. While the development incorporates a 1 hectare (2.4 acre) park, it has only one east/west link. Such large scale urban blocks and a park largely in shadow would create dark and deserted public spaces, not fit for purpose. Having lain derelict for almost half a century, the site’s redevelopment is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform the area with exemplary design to reinforce London’s position as a European heritage city and global innovation hub. Such an exceptional development could also address the critical social issues of the area – from housing to unemployment to crime.
Launching the campaign, spokesperson David Donoghue said:
“At the crossroads of the City and Tech City, the development of the site represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a distinctive architectural scheme that enhances the vibrant district of Shoreditch and Spitalfields and directly supports its residential and creative community. With large floor plate retail space targeting high street brands and high-end luxury apartments aimed at overseas investors, the proposals threaten our thriving community, pushing up property and rental prices, forcing current residents and businesses out will turn London’s thriving Tech City into Ghost City. The site is London’s largest brownfield site after King’s Cross and deserves something more distinctive, to protect the character and appeal of this great cultural and social crossroads, home to generations of creative and enterprising people.”
