Westminster Council has given permission for a £775 million 14-storey Renzo Piano ‘Paddingtoon Cube’ block, though SAVE Britain’s Heritage calls the project ‘outrageously and gratuitously overscaled’
Westminster Council has given planning permission for the £775 million 14-storey, 33,500 square metres office block designed by Renzo Piano. The decision was despite objections from SAVE, Historic England, the Victorian Society, the South East Bayswater Residents Association and local residents. Strong objections were also submitted by the nearby St Mary’s Hospital Paddington and the Imperial College Healthcase NHS Trust, which said the proposals compromised the operation of St Mary’s Hospital.
The project proposes the demolition of an Edwardian baroque sorting office, which is classed a building of merit within the Bayswater Conservation Area. SAVE says the new building will tower over the Conservation Area and surrounding listed buildings, including the Grade I listed Paddington Station.
Marcus Binney, Executive President of SAVE said: ‘The proposed Paddington Cube is a violation of both Baywater and Brunel’s Paddington Station, a world renowned masterpiece of railway engineering. SAVE successfully fought off proposals to build a row of towers along the eastern flank of Paddington Station, which would have destroyed the fourth span added in 1916, itself a masterpiece and one of the cleverest and most sympathetic extension additions ever made to a great engineering structure.
‘The Cube is outrageously and gratuitously overscaled and will be one of the biggest blots on the London townscape for years. It will overwhelm both Brunel’s station and the handsomely restored Great Western Hotel, as well destroying the handsome Edwardian Post Office sorting office. For years Westminster’s enlightened planning and design policies focused on conserving the character of the Borough, and set an example to the whole of Britain. If this proposal is passed, as the officers recommend, the Borough of Westminster will be trashing its own once-fine reputation.’
