Alan Sugar rattles St Paul’s with Cheapside plans
Posted by:
on
15th April 2013

St Paul’s and local residents are calling for
Amsprop’s plans to refurbish the prominent development above St Paul's underground
station to be rejected when they go before City planners on Friday.
St Paul’s is urging a comprehensive redevelopment
of the building, known as the Threepenny Bit, rather than the refurbishment Sugar
is proposing, citing that current proposals encroach on the cathedrals
protected views, lack detail and are of lower architectural quality than
surrounding buildings.
It also contends that Sugar’s property company Amsprop
has not consulted the Cathedral on the plans.
Amsprop submitted a planning application to
the Corporation earlier this year for the refurbishment of the existing
building, including facade recladding, internal alterations and partial changes
of use to provide retail at part basement and part ground floor, as well as office
space at part basement, part ground and over first to seventh floors.
In a letter from the Cathedral to the City’s
Department of the Built Environment the Chapter said that they “…would greatly
prefer a redevelopment of this site which contrived to respect the St Paul’s
heights and also made a positive contribution to the setting of the Cathedral
and its highly significant environments. We would support the principle of a
scheme that removed the blight of an unoccupied and poorly maintained office
building and would also wish to see a scheme which made functional improvements
to the pedestrian context at the busy crossing point and London Underground
station entrance.
“We submit that the proposals covered by the
submission under consideration does not achieve these aims or other objectives
the City would support and therefore should not be granted.
“The applicant has not provided sufficient
evidence of the impact of this proposal on adjoining buildings and the
Cathedral environs, and therefore they cannot reasonably claim to have
appraised these vital matters to reasonable satisfaction.
“We suspect that [the] incremental increase
in floor plate encroaches on the St Paul’s Heights and should therefore be
opposed.
“We further feel that floor to ceiling office
glazing will give a view of office interiors which will be unsightly from the
Cathedral and Cathedral churchyard and will have a negative impact on visual
amenity.
“More generally, we do not feel that the
application gives sufficient detail or rationale to invite confidence in the
resulting development and that this will be of a comparable quality to the
adjoining Paternoster square or indeed achieve the quality of architectural
resolution of 1 New Change.
“As the applicant identifies, there is a view
from the cathedral down onto the office roof, which is seen by nearly two
million visitors to the Cathedral. If not successfully resolved, the proposal
will negatively impact on the visual amenity enjoyed within the conservation
area.
“There is no consideration of how the
building meets the ground or the landscape generally in the area.”
The comments were echoed by the four members
of the public who have made official objections to Sugar’s plans.
One said: “It seems mean to have to develop
this small plot with yet another building that has no architectural
distinction, is plain and somewhat trite.”
Another added: “It cannot be right that we
allow the presence of a world class building like St Paul’s to become a sort of
architectural curse on its neighbourhood, guaranteeing mediocrity in all new
developments. Let’s reject this and ask for a bit more imagination.”
Despite the objections, City planning officer
Peter Rees has recommended Sugar’s plans for 5 Cheapside for planning approval
later this week.
If you are looking for high
quality serviced offices in St Paul’s, Cheapside or anywhere else in
Central London, from leading providers, please contact Skyline Offices. Our
specialist consultants are highly skilled in finding you fantastic servicedoffice space from our extensive portfolio of prime locations in Central London.