Councillors in east London have approved proposals for a seven-storey data centre on a car park behind Nicholas Grimshaw’s high-tech former Financial Times Printworks building, despite concerns about the impact of the new development on the grade II*-listed structure.

Both government heritage adviser Historic England and the Greater London Authority expressed fears about the harm data-centre specialist TTSP’s development for site owner Global Switch would cause to the Grimshaw building, which was first listed in 2016.

But members of Tower Hamlets Council’s strategic development committee unanimously approved the proposals at a meeting on Tuesday night, after borough planning officers said the benefits of the scheme outweighed the “less than substantial harm” they would cause.

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