Hines cleared for reworked Soho scheme

Hines’ reworked plans for a Soho office and retail block have been unanimously approved by Westminster City Council. Earlier proposals for 2-4 Dean Street and 7 Soho Square, W1, were recommended for approval last year but the council’s planning committee refused them in October on the grounds of height, bulk and design.  Hines lodged revised plans in March that removed some of the site’s scale and bulk when seen from Soho Square, as well as featuring a lower parapet line on Dean Street to match the neighbouring property. The new scheme will also have a revised design for the Soho Square and Dean Street facades, and includes a large retail space designated for a supermarket – the original plans were criticised locally for the removal of a popular Tesco Express store. Hines said it recognised that the supermarket “is of particular importance to local residents”. Planning committee chair Ruth Bush welcomed Hines having “rethought [the plans] in a pretty thorough way” following the refusal. Recommending the new plans for approval if London mayor Sadiq Khan agrees, Westminster planning officers had said: “The retention of a food supermarket on the site is a significant change to the scheme and the overall land use package. The scheme is considered acceptable in land use, sustainability/ energy, amenity and highways terms. In design and townscape terms the increase in bulk of the new building would still result in some harm but this harm is considered to be at the lower end of less than substantial which is significantly outweighed by public benefits that the scheme will deliver.”