The third tallest skyscraper in the UK is to be built on the Isle of Dogs after two massive new developments for the area were approved by planning chiefs.
In a decision branded a “total disgrace” by campaigners, Tower Hamlets Council’s planning committee gave the green light to a 75-storey, 239 metre tower on the site of the old City Pride pub in Westferry Road.
The tower - dwarfed only by the Shard and Canary Wharf in height – is set to provide more than 800 new homes, with 37 per cent of those designated as social housing.
Chair of the council’s development committee Cllr Helal Abbas, who used his deciding vote to approve the scheme after a split ballot, said: “The borough has an acute shortage of affordable rental properties.
“Faced with a choice of social housing or high tower blocks the committee felt social housing was a priority and that we should support this scheme.”
The skyscraper will include a roof garden, a cinema and a children’s play area.
A series of 173 low-rise residential blocks were also approved by the committee as part of the Island Point development in Westferry Road at Thursday’s meeting. In June, planners deferred reaching a decision on the scheme, citing overdevelopment in the area.
Cllr David Snowden, who represents Millwall, pledged to look at every available avenue to block the development.
“It’s a total disgrace,” he said. “There’s a housing need across London but it needs to be provided in the right way.
“You cannot keep building more and more housing without looking at transport provision and health and education facilities.”
Work on the site can now begin once developer Chalegrove Properties Ltd signs legal agreements with Tower Hamlets Council detailing conditions for planning approval.
The developer said: “Chalegrove Properties Ltd are delighted to have the opportunity to regenerate these two strategically important sites and deliver much needed quality affordable family housing, as well as an exciting new iconic landmark for both London and the Isle of Dogs.”
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