Govt approves Henley Halebrown’s ‘outstanding’ west London tower

The government has approved Henley Halebrown’s plans for a 20-storey social housing tower in Fulham, west London, following a glowing report from the planning inspectorHousing minister Stuart Andrew, who has since resigned from his job, approved the 133-home scheme on Monday (4 July) on behalf of housing secretary Michael Gove, who was fired yesterday.The go-ahead comes after the government called in the scheme for a public inquiry in 2021.The decision was made on the recommendation of planning inspector Paul Griffiths, who said his ‘strong conclusion’ was that the scheme would accord with the local development plan, despite harm caused to local heritage assets.The tower is planned for the site of the former Edith Summerskill House on the post-war Clem Atlee Estate which was demolished in 2017.It is being developed by a joint venture between Stanhope and Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and will provide 105 social rent homes, with 28 intermediate homes.Griffiths called Henley Halebrown’s scheme ‘an outstanding piece of design’ and a ‘game changer for the quality of affordable housing’, adding that it would ‘come to be just as celebrated as [Alexander] Pugin’s nearby [Grade II*-listed] Church of St Thomas of Canterbury’.He said: ‘The real genius of this building lies in the overlapping square arrangement of its footprint, its staggered volume, the Classical proportions and elevational rhythm of its arched façades, and its inner and outer skins. It will make a slender and elegant contribution to the townscape.‘It will activate the frontages at ground floor level. It will improve the public realm. Its internal arrangements will create functional and sustainable homes of outstanding quality for its residents … the design of the proposal is exemplary and it would be an addition to the skyline of outstanding quality that would raise the bar for development in the area, and London generally.’Griffith said the harm caused to the setting and therefore the nearby Church of St Thomas of Canterbury, a Roman Catholic church dating to 1847, attracts ‘considerable important and weight’ but added that this is ‘very clearly outweighed by the public benefits’ of well-designed affordable homes.Hammersmith and Fulham Council leader Stephen Cowan said: ‘We welcome the decision by the government to approve our plan to build 133 genuinely affordable new homes for local people and that it has conceded “in relation to affordable housing all parties agree that there is a significant shortfall against what are pressing needs”.‘We have consulted extensively and will now crack on and build the much-needed homes for our residents. We remain on track with our plan for 3,000 new affordable homes in the borough.’Henley Halebrown co-founder and director Gavin Hale-Brown said: ‘We are very pleased to have such overwhelming support from the secretary of state for this building and [are] somewhat flattered by his description of the scheme when he says “the design of the proposal is exemplary and it would be an addition to the skyline of outstanding quality that would raise the bar for development in the area, and London generally”.‘It has had a long gestation having been granted two separate planning permissions and with continued support from the GLA. The building provides 100 per cent affordable accommodation so we were dismayed when the project was called in.’‘We are glad to be able to build Edith Summerskill House at last. We have had a very supportive client team in Stanhope, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and Peabody, and we are excited to remain central to the delivery of the building to ensure the quality identified in the report can be brought to fruition and the “excellent living conditions” identified by the inspector provided to the people of west London.’