Soho Society opposed archway in approved Soho Square scheme

Westminster City Council's Planning Sub-Committee approved the Royal London UK Real Estate Fund scheme on Soho Square on Tuesday October 27. The scheme covers four buildings, including the former home of 20th Century Fox, and totals almost 9,000 square metres.

We reported in October that Westminster City Council approved plans for about 55,000 sq ft of office space at the former 20th Century Fox headquarters and neighbouring Soho buildings.

The main building will stand eight storeys and combine 31-32 Soho Square with 65-66 Frith Street. The neo-Georgian front of 31-32 Soho Square will be kept and restored up to the fourth floor. 22-25 Dean Street and 10 Chapone Place will be refurbished. Flats in one of the existing buildings will stay. The scheme will add new office space and retail space, and the net gain in internal space is 2,477 square metres.

The service yard at Chapone Place will become a landscaped public courtyard. A new archway on Soho Square will lead to a pedestrian route to Dean Street. The scheme includes 150 long-stay cycle spaces, seven of them for residents, and an affordable workspace for the community in the Dean Street building.

The Soho Society opposed the archway. It said Soho Square should be protected as a space for "rest and recreation" and that the archway would disrupt the symmetry of the green space. Its chair, Tim Lord, said: "The purpose and role of Soho Square is respite. Soho Square is a protected square under the London Squares Preservation Act 1931, limited to garden, rest and recreation use."

Residents of Townsend House asked for acoustic glazing on their rear windows and for heat pumps to be considered. Both requests were added to the application as an informative.

Alistair Martin, from Simten Developments, said: "At its heart, this application is about giving a long, underused part of Soho a sustainable future, one that represents the very best of Soho."