The Victorian Society says revised plan ‘almost as harmful as Paddington Pole’
The Victorian Society has joined Historic England in objecting to Renzo Piano’s giant cube design in Paddington.
Earlier this month, Historic England also raised objections to the scheme, which is being developed by Sellar Property and Great Western Developments, over the impact it would have on Paddington station and nearby listed buildings.
The Victorian Society has raised concerns over the scheme’s impact on the Bayswater Conservation Area as well as the demolition of the “handsome and impressive” former Royal Mail sorting and delivery office.
The revised scheme, known as Paddington Quarter, comprises a 14-storey, 33,500 sq m office block that replaced Piano’s earlier plans for a 72-storey pole filled with luxury apartments, which was later withdrawn by the developer.
“The Paddington cube would be almost as harmful as the Paddington Pole,” the heritage group said in its response to the planning application.
The new building will sit 12m above new public realm and the heritage group said this would make the building taller than its advertised 14 storeys.
“At 18 storeys the Cube is simply too tall,” the society said, calling it a “totally glazed and largely unarticulated box” which would be at odds with the conservation area.
The society argued in its response that the construction and development of the Royal Mail’s former sorting and delivery office and the London Post Office Railway are bound up with the development of the railways and terminus at Paddington station. “The loss of the building would erode comprehension of this most significant chapter in Paddington’s history,” the society added.
The society said the building is also significant in its role in the setting for a number of listed buildings nearby including the grade II listed Great Western Hotel and Mint and Clarence Memorial Wings of St Mary’s Hospital.
Piano’s revised scheme was sent in to planners at Westminster council in September with a planning meeting pencilled in for December 6.
The plans also include a new public plaza, 80,000sq ft of retail and restaurant space over five levels including a rooftop restaurant and a new station for the Bakerloo underground line.
The scheme’s commercial director Caroline Sellar said the revised scheme had strong support, including from local residents, and added: “Paddington Quarter will provide a wide range of public benefits for those living, working and visiting the area…this is an investment which is years overdue yet one no one else has been willing to provide.”
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