A controversial proposal to build a 605-bedroom tower in Paddington to house King’s College London students has been rejected.
Councillors on Westminster City council’s planning committee voted three to one to reject the scheme during a meeting on Tuesday.
They said the proposed buildings would cause “devastating” impacts on local amenities in Baltic Wharf and seriously jeopardise access to daylight for a number of neighbouring properties.
Conservative councillor Jim Glen said the project, brought forward by Travis Perkins and Unite Group Plc, was “overwhelming and overbearing”.
He also said plans to build two towers – one at 20 storeys and another at 12 storeys – was “at odds” with the local area. Cllr Glen said the application was also very similar to one previously submitted and refused by the council in 2022.
Voting against, he said: “Even with the introduction of a gap between blocks, the scale, height and mass will be such that the development will lead to devastating impacts to the amenities of residents in Sheldon Square in terms of outlook, oppressive sense of enclosure and the loss of daylight and sunlight.”
Cllr Rachael Robathan said there was cross-party consensus to refuse the application. She also said the height of the buildings in the revised application were less than a meter shorter than those proposed in the 2022 version.
She said: “Our own housing needs analysis does not set out an overriding need for student accommodation in Westminster. That is very clearly laid out in the papers.”
Charles Gallagher from King’s College London described the development as a “unique opportunity”. He told the committee: “This redevelopment presents a unique opportunity to meet pressing housing needs for both students and local residents and to retain Travis Perkins while preserving and enhancing local heritage.”
Travis Perkins’ Nick Pinney said the proposal would have been an “exemplary” development for Paddington.
Pictured top: CGI of the proposed blocks in Harrow Road (Picture: Make/Unite Students/Travis Perkins)