Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher dials up a planning win for Colindale Telephone Exchange

The Colindale Exchange proposals by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher

The Colindale Exchange proposals by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher

Proposals to redevelop a 2.15ha telephone exchange site in north London with a 505-home scheme designed by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher have been approved by Barnet council.

The development, drawn up for Telereal Trillium, will replace the 1960s Colindale Telephone Exchange with a 16-block scheme of up to 17 storeys in height. It also features around 750 sq m of commercial space.

The application is split into three phases, with only the first phase gaining detailed consent. The overall scheme would deliver 35% affordable housing, as measured by habitable room.

The Colindale Exchange proposals by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher

The Colindale Exchange proposals by Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher

Recommending the plans for approval at Barnet’s most recent planning committee, officers said the principle of a tall building in the scheme was acceptable and that Carey Jones Chapman Tolcher’s scheme was “of a high design quality and would integrate well with its surrounding context”.

Officers noted that the existing 12-storey telephone exchange towers last year won so-called “prior approval” for conversion into 220 homes under the government’s office-to-resi planning rules relaxation.

Barnet’s decision is subject to final sign-off from London Mayor Sadiq Khan because of the size of the scheme.

Colindale Telephone Exchange

Colindale Telephone Exchange