Detailed consent for 23-storey tower on Docklands’ North Quay site

Plans by architect KPF for a 23-storey life sciences tower in Canary Wharf have been given the green light.

Tower Hamlets council granted detailed consent to the application with delegated powers last week. 

The plans had been given outline approval last year as part of a wider scheme set to include 3.5 million sq ft of laboratory space .

Developers Canary Wharf Group and Dutch investor Kadans Science Partner say the 823,000 sq ft tower will be Europe’s largest and most technologically advanced life sciences building.

Enabling works at the 3.3ha North Quay site in London’s Docklands, located just north of the area’s Elizabeth Line station, are already well underway and the block is set to complete in 2027.

The building has been designed to allow up to 60% lab space, with laboratories on every floor.

Others working on the scheme include QS Turner & Townsend Alinea, M&E consultant Buro Happold, landscape architect Gillespies and planning consultant Quod.

The developers said the building will be low carbon, with a highly insulated and airtight building fabric, energy efficient M&E, photo voltaic panels, heat pumps and heat recovery systems.

Several life sciences and healthcare organisations are already well established in Canary Wharf, including government-owned genomic health pioneer, Genomics England, Barts Health NHS Trust, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Medical Defence Union, General Pharmaceutical Council and NHS Transformation.