Government quashes permission for Westferry Printworks development

The government has agreed to quash planning permission for Northern & Shell’s 1,524-home Westferry Printworks scheme from Northern & Shell. Tower Hamlets, the planning authority for the scheme, launched a legal case against the government on the basis that the date of the decision allowed the developer to avoid between £30m and £50m in additional planning obligations which would have applied if it had been approved the following day. The charges would have applied as Tower Hamlets was due to bring in a new Community Infrastructure Levy charging schedule. The government has now allowed the decision to be quashed following a request by Tower Hamlets as part of the legal proceedings that it disclose correspondence between the government and the developer over the decision.

Building (27/05/2020)