New Shoreditch growth plan could create ‘up to 11,000 jobs’ says council

The plans could fuel Shoreditch’s economy, the council claims. Photograph: Hackney Council

Hackney Council has unveiled plans it says will fuel housebuilding and economic growth in one of East London’s most prominent arts and fashion hotspots.

Shoreditch could see “30 aircraft hangars” worth of commercial floorspace and hundreds of new homes under the “major” proposals to shake up local planning policies in the borough over the next 15 years, which the Labour-run council claims will bring over 11,000 new jobs to the creative and commercial district.

On Tuesday, 3 March, the local authority launched its public consultation on the policy, which flags 15 potential sites for redevelopment. According to the council, the Future Shoreditch Area Action Plan’s targets could deliver 500 more homes, 200,000 sqm of office floorspace and 15,600sqm of retail and community floorspace.

Under the plans, developers will face stricter rules for building in Shoreditch. The council will ask developers to aim for half new residential units built to be ‘affordable’, while the policy also imposes a general ban on buildings created solely for office spaces. Alongside this, 10% of new office spaces built will need to be affordable.

Tall buildings (30 metres or higher) will be allowed within specific zones or on designated ‘opportunity’ sites. Landlords will also be barred from turning residential homes into short-term holiday lets.

The local authority launched its public consultation on the policy on Tuesday. Photograph: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Meanwhile, new night-time venues and large retail spaces will only be permitted in designated areas such as Old Street, Shoreditch High Street and Curtain Road. Developers hoping to build next to existing clubs will also need to mitigate noise to protect venues from complaints.

Shoreditch is renowned for its vibrant street art, nightlife and artisan cafes, but also as East London’s ‘Tech City’. Over the last two decades, the growing presence of companies including Amazon, Adobe, Monzo and Inmarsat around Old Street has seen the area dubbed the ‘Silicon Roundabout’.

Hailing Shoreditch’s “phenomenal” economic growth, Hackney’s regeneration chief, Cllr Guy Nicholson, said the new policy would “create jobs while enhancing the neighbourhood’s architecture and heritage, delivering genuinely affordable homes and workspaces, and improving streets and public spaces”.

If approved, the changes are likely to influence the fate of a major commercial and residential development left in limbo last month.

In February, Hackney councillors went against the advice of planning officials who had encouraged them to reject a scheme to erect a 19-storey office block and other buildings on sites encompassing Worship Street, Curtain Road, Holywell Row, and Scrutton Street.

Developer Linea Properties said the Shoreditch Works project would deliver over 4,000 new jobs, but officers argued it was too tall for the area and that the designs were “incompatible” with surrounding architecture. However, under the council’s new policy, the site where the proposed office tower would have gone is designated as “appropriate” for tall buildings.

Officers had also criticised Linea’s original application for only including 40 new homes. The council’s latest policy plan sets expectations for 215 residential units to be built in any redevelopment of this particular street block.

A public consultation on the Future Shoreditch Area Action Plan is now live for residents to comment on the proposals before Tuesday, April 7. The plans will then be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for independent review.