Hackney Council has confirmed that a building in London Fields is to be demolished and replaced with an eight storey block of luxury apartments and office space. The Laundry Building as it currently stands is only four storeys high and accommodates 26 workspaces occupied by artists and photographers as well as music and podcast producers who use the rooms as recording studios.
Residents from the building next door, Monohaus, were concerned that the amount of sunlight reaching their bedrooms would soon be drastically reduced, as the proposed plan would leave just six feet between the new development and Monohaus.
It also became clear that neighbours would be able to see into each other’s windows. However, the council ruled that the guidelines on sunlight blockage were not enforceable laws and were therefore not ultimately persuasive as arguments.
The council approved the plan on Wednesday night in a tight vote after more than an hour of tense deliberation, which led to screams of “Shame!”, “That’s embarrassing!” and “How could you pass that?” echoing through the chamber.
The absence of any affordable housing within the development was also dismissed as an argument. The chairman of the planning sub-committee, Councillor Vincent Stops, stated that affordability was not a requirement of every individual development because affordable housing is viewed in the context of all projects across the borough.
The protestations of businesses and artists working from out of the Laundry Building were also set aside by the sub-committee. “Existing users are not part of our consideration”, announced Councillor Stops, while the building’s landlord added that “They will find alternative spaces”.
