100 City Road Reduced in Height
The planned skyscraper by Squire and Partners for a site on the City of London fringe at 100 City Road is no longer a skyscraper following intervention by English Heritage in the planning process.
Reduced by five floors to the present 39 by the architect and developer, London Merchant Securities, there had been concerns voiced about the effect of a tall building on the nearby conservation areas of Finsbury Square and Bunhill Fields meaning the tower is now set to be 131 metres above ground level.
The end result of this intervention has ironically been to reduce the profitability of the scheme enough that the amount of affordable housing in it has been cut from 79 to 66 and the total number of housing units from 250 to 225.
English Heritage are also opposing the project in general terms believing that this area of the northern fringe of the City of London that runs around Old Street and City Road towards Islington is unsuitable for tall buildings despite a number of proposals for the area already raising the question of just where in London outside of the Isle of Dogs is suitable for a tall building.
In favour of the height is the argument that the site is such a key gateway to the City of London that it is more than suitable for tall buildings, logic that fits in perfectly with the current planning policy which encourages just this.
More than anything the area desperately needs more residents. It's currently dominated by office space serving firms in the City of London and although there are plenty of retail units, they tend to close in the weekend thanks to the lack of locals who shop there turning it into a ghost town so reducing the number of units in this project, and others in the area by complaining about height has an immediate detrimental effect on any regeneration of an area that should be bustling.
It sits opposite Old Street Roundabout, one of the most notoriously unappealing areas of central London thanks to the vast amount of post-war rebuilding that went on that's overwhelmed by bulky concrete, an unpleasant pedestrian environment and poor planning.
Squire and Partners new scheme has been designed with active frontages that will reinvigorate this corner of the roundabout with retail and restaurant space plus outside amenity areas for residents of the project.
The site of the project occupied by Monmouth House sits at 70-100 City Road. It was bought by London Merchant Securities in July 2006, clearly with the intention of developing it into something that would rival other nearby proposals such as Eagle House.
There's no word yet on when they intend to start construction but when it does go-ahead they should have plenty of competition from a good half a dozen similar sized schemes that will pepper this locale with a selection of modern residential towers.
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Subject: 100 City Road Reduced in Height 
Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:45 am