British Land and Make win planning for City project

Planning permission has been granted for British Land and Make Architects’ controversial proposals to redevelop 5 Broadgate in the City of London.

The 12-storey 1.1 million ft² office block replaces 3, 4 and 6 Broadgate which were designed by Peter Foggo/Arup in 1991 in the earliest phases of the iconic City development. Despite the scheme being branded the “worst in the City for 20 years” by original Broadgate developer Stuart Lipton and also attracting criticism from Arup Associates founding partner Philip Dowson, only two objections were received during the planning consultation process.

The new building, jointly developed by the Blackstone Group, will be almost double the size of the original and will form new landmark headquarters for Swiss Bank UBS. It will provide a total net office floorspace of approximately 700,000ft² (66,890m²), and will include four trading floors capable of accommodating approximately 750 traders per floor. Chris Grigg, chief executive of The British Land Company, said: “It is fantastic that the ity, in its decision today, has acknowledged the importance of the current and future needs of key occupiers for attractive, flexible and sustainable floorspace, the retention of UBS in Broadgate and the maintenance of London’s status as a world class financial centre.”

The City of London’s committee report described number 5 Broadgate as a “striking and eye catching addition to the new architecture of the city” and in its Design Review the government’s design adviser, CABE, said that 5 Broadgate “is an exciting opportunity for a major new building in the City of London.”