Levitt Bernstein’s addition to pioneering Powell & Moya estate set for approval

Levitt Bernstein is tipped to win approval for its scheme to replace a former pub with homes on Powell & Moya’s 1950s famous Churchill Gardens housing estate in Pimlico, LondonThe plans include 52 new homes on the estate, which was built between 1946-1962 on the north bank of the Thames and is a highly regarded example of high-density post-war housing.Levitt Bernstein’s scheme, for estate owner Westminster Council, involves knocking down the former Balmoral Castle pub, along with an existing five-storey supported housing block Darwin House and 23 garages on the site.This will make way for two new buildings, a seven-storey block with 34 supported social housing flats to replace those in Darwin House, and a five-storey block with 18 homes for rent.Westminster planning officers have recommended the scheme for approval but it still needs final sign off from councillors who will vote on it next week (June 8th).The wider Churchill Gardens estate features nine blocks and an accumulator tower, which stored excess heat from Battersea Power Station. Many of its buildings are Grade II listed, including Shelley House which is next to the proposed development.The proposal has faced some opposition from the Churchill Gardens Residents Association, which said they did not take into consideration the design of the Churchill Gardens conservation area and multi-award-winning estate.The planning officers’ report also said the new building would detract from the historical significance of Shelley House, one of the original buildings constructed during the first phase of the estate development.It added that, while the proposed building is not higher than Shelley House, its height and bulk would ‘degrade its legibility’ as a landmark feature.However, it decided that overall this was outweighed by the significant public benefits in the scheme such as the replacement of sub-standard supported housing.Objections were also received from Historic England and the Victorian Society to the demolition of the Balmoral Castle pub, described as a ‘Victorian building of merit’. The pub is owned by Westminster Council but closed in 2006.The construction of Churchill Gardens estate began in 1947 under the Abercrombie Plan, replacing Victorian terraces houses damaged during the Blitz.Young architects Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya won an international competition for the commission, which was judged by the RIBA.Their design became the first housing estate in Britain to combine both low and high rise social housing blocks, incorporating 1,576 flats and two terraces of houses.