The City of London Corporation has given planning consent for a 24-storey office-led development on Hounsditch, the seventh tall building approved in the Square Mile this calendar year and hailed by the Corporation as illustrating “the enduring strength of the office market in the City”.
The successful application by developer Brockton Everlast, designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), is described as providing “flexible and adaptable” office space suitable for new forms of work culture and smaller businesses, including some at discounts from market levels, as well as room for shops, cafes and community activities.
The scheme (pictured) is also described by the City as having “a strong focus on sustainability”, with an aim of producing significantly fewer carbon emissions than required building regulations and system for storing heat for use in colder periods of the year and sharing it with the neighbouring Middlesex Street estate.
The six other tall buildings given the go-ahead by the City Corporation’s planning and transportation committee in 2021 have been at 55 Gracechurch Street, 70 Gracechurch Street, 2-3 Finsbury Avenue, City Place House, 100-108 Fetter Lane and 120 Fleet Street.
Earlier this year, the City launched a report, The Square Mile: Future City, which set out a vision for the Square Mile’s recovery from the pandemic, which produced a huge fall in the numbers of people coming into the area to work.
Recent months have seen a steady return to the City’s offices, encourage by the “square smile” campaign launched by the corporation last month. Since then, the Waterloo & City London Underground has resumed a full service, having made a partial return in June.
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