Campaign launches against ‘Hong Kong style’ Shoreditch skyscrapers

An aerial view of the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site. Photograph: OPEN Shoreditch

A campaign has launched this week against six skyscrapers planned for Bishopsgate goods yard in Shoreditch, as part of a redevelopment project worth £800 million.

The goods yard, located next to Shoreditch High Street station, is a stretch of land left derelict by a fire 50 years ago which straddles the boroughs of Hackney and Tower Hamlets.

The redevelopment scheme is a joint venture by property developers Hammerson and Ballymore, who submitted planning applications to both local authorities last week.

They plan to turn the site which includes the historic Braithwaite Viaduct – one of the oldest railway structures in the world – into flats, offices and a public park.

An artist’s impression of the development of the historic railway viaduct.

Lights out

The proposed development also includes four residential towers, two of which would reach 48 storeys. A 13 storey commercial block is also planned for the current Boxpark site.

But these “Hong Kong style” towers are opposed by the ‘More Light More Power’ campaign, which comprises of ten local planning and community groups and was launched by OPEN Shoreditch this week.

They have called the plans “oversized and underwhelming” and claim the towering structures threaten to cast a shadow over Shoreditch.

Campaign spokesperson David Donogue said: “We are all for development, we are all for bringing this blighted bit of land into constructive use.

“The main issue is to do with the heights of the buildings being proposed which are out of context with the nature of the area.

“Once it is built you have lost an area for generations. It’s the wrong place. Far better to have mid-rise solutions, that is our view as residents here.”

The developers insist the project will provide up to 1,500 new homes, including affordable properties.

However, Donogue remains unconvinced: “Affordable is, they say, 80% of market price. Thus a £1 million property would be sold for £800,000 and be called affordable.”

An artist’s impression of the planned development. Photograph: OPEN Shoreditch

Tech City Says No

A separate campaign, ‘Tech City Says No!’ has also been launched by those who work in and around Silicon Roundabout who fear that the development will turn “tech city into ghost city”.

Benjamin Southworth, former deputy CEO of the Tech City Investment Organisation said: “There are many of us who are concerned that in the rush to capitalise on the success of East London digital and creative community, property developers are being short-sighted and wilfully ignoring the needs, desires and aesthetics of the local area.”

But Managing Director of Ballymore UK John Mulryan said: “You don’t get a chance to open up such a large slice of London for public use very often, so we are keen to make this a flagship development.

“Londoners will get the chance to enjoy this important part of the capital’s heritage after years hidden from view. We want to create a great place to live, work and visit.”