Westminster recommends approval of Hanover Square redevelopment

The plans include the redevelopment of an existing 1950s/'60s office building located on the north-east corner of the square into a 58,000 square feet office-led scheme over nine floors, including a basement. The ground floor will include 9,800 sq ft of retail space and have two retail or restaurant units fronting the square. At the rear of the property, on Princes Street, there will be a separate residential building which will have six 947 sq ft residential units each with its own car space.

The officers said in their report (54-page / 5.32MB PDF) that the proposal would deliver "important benefits" to both sites with a "prestigious" new office building and good quality new residential accommodation without material harm to other concerns, including surrounding residential amenity.

The officers said they accepted that the plans did not propose delivery of any affordable housing and that "although not impossible to physically provide the three units at either site, it would be problematic to do so given the difficulties of achieving a reasonable degree of separation from the market units at these sites, which is generally required for management reasons".

A contribution of £990,150 towards the Council's affordable housing fund had been agreed with the developer as an alternative to on-site provision, the report said.

The application will be decided by the Council's planning committee at a meeting on 15 January. Final approval will be subject to referral to the Mayor of London.