Stiff & Trevillion’s twice-rejected Bury House scheme heading to public inquiry next year

Bury House 3

The 43-storey scheme has been rejected by the City of London twice

The developer behind plans to build a 43-storey office tower next to the oldest continuously operating synagogue in Britain has appealed against the City of London’s decision to reject the scheme.

The Planning Inspectorate will begin a 16-day inquiry into Welput’s Bury House scheme on 3 February 2026.

A preliminary case management conference will be held between the main parties of the inquiry next month, on 26 November 2025, to discuss specific matters which are in dispute.

The launch of the appeal comes 10 months after the Stiff & Trevillion-designed scheme was rejected for a second time by the City of London amid controversy over its location next to the grade I-listed Bevis Marks synagogue.

Bury House 1

Stiff & Trevillion’s plans for Bury House

Built in 1701, Bevis Marks is the oldest synagogue in Britain in continuous use and the only non-Christian place of worship in the City.

Five storeys were cut from the scheme following its initial refusal by the City’s planning committee in 2021, and the revised application was put on ice last year by then communities secretary Angela Rayner.

These plans were recommended for symbolic approval when it returned to the committee last year, with planning officers arguing the shortened tower would preserve the setting of the synagogue and the Creechurch conservation area within which the site is located.

But the planning application provoked a considerable public backlash from worshippers and locals, with one member of the public writing on the City’s planning portal: “It is very unlikely that such a building would be allowed next to St Paul’s Cathedral, so why is the synagogue not afforded the same protection?

“The Bevis Marks Synagogue has the same significance for the Jewish community as St Paul’s Cathedral or Westminster Abbey have for the wider community.”

The plans were also criticised by former Lord mayor of the City of London Michael Bear in last December’s planning committee meeting: “It is quite unprecedented for a pro-growth former lord mayor of the City of London to address you as an objector but this audacious application leaves me with no choice.”

Bevis Marks Synagogue

The grade I-listed Bevis Marks synagogue

Bear, who led the City of London Corporation between 2010 and 2011, said the synagogue was a “living centre of an important minority community and something to be celebrated in our multicultural city,” adding: “It sounds like the officer’s recommendation completely disregards the City traditions I have mentioned as well as the importance of multiculturalism and religious tolerance.”

Much of the controversy stemmed from concerns the tower would obscure the passage of the moon through the sky when viewed from the synagogue grounds, which would impact the ability of the Sephardi community to practice the Kiddush Levana ritual.

Multiplex had been providing construction advice on the scheme, replacing Mace which had been appointed to the role on the former proposals.

The rest of the project team includes cost consultant RLB, structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti, sustainability consultant Hoare Lea, facade consultant Arup and planning consultant DP9.

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