Broadgate plans rocked by listing recommendation

British Land’s controversial plans for the £340m redevelopment of Broadgate were dealt a potential blow on Friday after English Heritage recommended part of the site should be listed.

English Heritage recommended 1-2, 3, 4, 6 and 8-12 Broadgate and 100 Liverpool Street should be Grade II* listed.

Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt will have the final say, after architecture minister John Penrose was declared unsuitable to make the decision last month because his wife is a non-executive director of British Land.

Make’s designs for the 700,000ft2 headquarters of Swiss bank UBS, which would replace the buildings, have provoked strong criticism.

Sir Stuart Lipton, the original developer of Broadgate, branded the scheme the “worst in the City for 20 years.”

But Make founder Ken Shuttleworth, said of the scheme: “It may look different but that is what is so exciting about it. It heralds a sea change in modern architecture.”

The plans were given planning consent in April.

In its recommendation to Hunt, English Heritage said: “English Heritage does not lightly recommend listing - the process of assessment and consultation is extremely thorough.

“Experience has shown that listing must be one step ahead of fashion and we seek to celebrate those buildings that are exemplars of their time and place.

“To merit listing, buildings under 30 years of age must demonstrably be of ’outstanding quality’ and under threat. We absolutely believe this to be the case with phases 1-4 at Broadgate and we await the secretary of state’s decision with close interest.”