Tower Hamlets resolves to grant permission for 423-home Marsh Wall tower

Developers Meridian Property Holdings and LBS Properties have proposed to demolish five low-rise office buildings on 0.4 hectares of land at 199-207 Marsh Wall and construct a new tower containing 423 apartments. The apartments would be a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units under the plans. On-site affordable housing provision of 30% has been proposed, against a local target of 35%.

The mezzanine floor of the building would contain 415 square metres of office space, in three units suitable for use by small and medium enterprises, and the ground floor would include a 43 sq m commercial unit for use as a shop or a café.

A 2,600 sq m public open space, including gardens and a children's playground would occupy 70% of the ground floor area of the site under the plans. The proposed scheme also includes a residents' gym and health facilities, and basement parking for 30 cars.

The plans were on the agenda for a meeting of the Council's strategic development committee last week, having been recommended for approval in a planning officer's report. The report noted that the site lay within the Marsh Wall East area, identified in the local plan as having "the capacity for significant housing delivery in excess of 3,000 new homes".

The report said that, whilst the proposed development represented "a considerable increase in height compared to the existing building and its immediate neighbours", it would be "consistent with the heights of other recently completed or consented developments" in the area. The officer considered the loss of office floorspace under the proposals to be acceptable since the proposed units would "meet local need better than the existing office accommodation", most of which was vacant.