Council rejects self-storage plans for crumbling Anvil House

Plans for a new self-storage warehouse in Hackney have been shot down by council planners who claimed it was a poor fit for the local area.

The crumbling Anvil House on Matthias Road – once a builder’s merchant – lies empty and is in need of redevelopment as cracks threaten to bring down the entire structure. However, a recent bid to partially demolish the warehouse to make way for a STOREX facility was rejected last week (4 August).

The developer, EQT Real Estate, planned to construct a mix of modern storage spaces that would be managed via apps and smart locks, alongside eight “Fab Lab” digital workshops, and a garden. The company said this would create up to 60 local jobs and be a quiet “good neighbour” to the local primary school.

Yet Hackney’s planning authority refused permission after finding these proposals lacking in several areas, including energy use and security against antisocial intruders, as well as the absence of bat surveys.

Top storey

Town hall planners ruled that the planned building needed a major redesign, owing to the “excessively prominent” top storey that was out of character with the surrounding streets. The proposed 318 sqm garden, meanwhile, was deemed too small and at risk of attracting antisocial behaviour due to a lack of passive surveillance.

In the council’s view, the developer had also failed to prove how the new building would regulate temperatures year-round, including through insulation materials and technologies to avoid overheating, in line with council policy.

Assistant director of planning Natalie Broughton said that the development would use “some poor quality external materials”. She did not identify the specific materials, but the application indicates that the developer would rely on composite systems rather than traditional brickwork, including brick-slip cladding and steel sandwich panels.

Bins and bats

The council also flagged that the plans included space for only a single bin store shared by all facility users, which warranted a further redesign. Meanwhile, ecologists had not finished all the minimum bat survey visits. Planning regulations require developers to prove schemes do not harm protected species or local wildlife.

This is the developer’s second failed attempt to secure planning approval for the site, following an initial application that was revised after officers raised concerns.