8th November 2023
Plans for a highly controversial commercial tower block overlooking London’s famous Shaftesbury Avenue and just a few blocks from The British Museum are set to be decided at planning committee on 16th November 2023.
Camden planners have recommended approval for the mega scheme, which would see the existing 1960s Travelodge building known as Selkirk House demolished to make way for an even bigger new 20-storey tower. An accompanying slab block would site beneath the tower, with new 5 and 6 storey blocks ploughing through a series of historic but unlisted buildings on West Central Street and right up to the recently listed buildings at 10-12 Museum Street and 35-37 New Oxford Street.
SAVE has objected to both iterations of the scheme since 2021, including the latest paltry revisions in spring 2022 which saw the height of the proposed tower reduced by a mere 6m, with the displaced height use to make to slab below wider. See here for further details on the proposals and the recent campaign which saw a range of buildings previously threatened by demolition under the scheme, listed by government heritage advisor Historic England.
The proposals have also come under fire from sustainability critics who have cited the extreme carbon cost of demolishing such a large existing building and replacing it with an even bigger one. No genuine consideration has been given to retrofitting the existing tower or alternative plans for reusing the existing buildings published in August 2023 by Save Museum Street, a coalition of local residents' associations and interest groups which wants to see the site developed to meet the needs of the wider community and environment, rather than more commercial office space.
The planning committee meeting will take place at Camden Town Hall on Euston Road at 7pm on Thursday 16th November 2023. There is still time to make your voice heard. Full details on how to object to the plans ahead of the committee can be found here.
ENDS
1. For more information contact Elizabeth Hopkirk at SAVE Britain’s Heritage – [email protected] / 020 7253 3500
2. SAVE Britain’s Heritage is an independent voice in conservation that fights for threatened historic buildings and sustainable reuses. We stand apart from other organisations by bringing together architects, engineers, planners and investors to offer viable alternative proposals. Where necessary, and with expert advice, we take legal action to prevent major and needless losses
