Delayed 1,800-home scheme was one of largest in London to be redrawn to add second staircases
Landsec has submitted another revision to its long-delayed plans to redevelop the O2 shopping centre with the latest version of the scheme cutting the number of affordable homes in its first phase from 35% to 20%.
The redesign follows Landsec’s appointment of Grid Architects and Heatherwick Studio to “evolve” a hybrid application designed by AHMM which was approved in 2023.
The original 1,800-home scheme was one of the largest projects in London to add second staircases following Sadiq Khan’s decision in early 2023 to implement the government’s proposed fire safety requirements for tall buildings with immediate effect.
But the scheme has since undergone several further tweaks including increasing the heights of some buildings by two storeys and adding 43 homes to its first phase, which would now deliver just under 700 homes instead of the original 650.
Planning consultant Newmark wrote to Camden council earlier this month on behalf of Landsec, stating that the viability of the scheme had been “significantly affected by changes to the Building Regulations surrounding fire safety”.
It added that a proposed rethink of the first phase had presented the opportunity to bring forward some “further enhancements”, which it said included a larger community centre and 400sq m of additional play space.
The revised plans would now provide 100 affordable homes in its first phase instead of 192 as originally proposed, with an affordable share of 20% across the scheme as a whole including its outline element as opposed to 35% in the 2023 consent.
The scheme has stoked controversy due to the intention to demolish the HOK-designed O2 shopping centre, which was built in 1998 and purchased by Landsec in 2010.
The 2023 application received nearly 1,000 letters of objection, with many locals raising concerns about sustainability and the loss of the O2’s retail space which includes a gym, a swimming pool and a large Sainsbury’s.
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