Campaigners fighting the proposed Paddington Cube building will head to court this week after a conservation group won permission for a judicial review.
The hearing will take place on Wednesday (November 1) and comes after SAVE Britain’s Heritage challenged the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government over his refusal to call in the proposals for public inquiry.
The 14-storey building is part of the larger £775 million Paddington Quarters regeneration, which also includes a £65m upgrade of Paddington Station.
Plans were submitted by Great Western Developments Ltd and Sellar Paddington Limited (SPL) and granted Westminster City Council permission in December 2016.
Paddington Quarter regeneration
SAVE challenged the Secretary of State Sajid Javid’s failure to give reasons for not calling in the application, and in an oral hearing at the High Court August 15, Judge Sir Ross Cranston gave permission for this challenge to proceed.
The charity has also launched a fundraising drive to cover its legal costs, and announced on Wednesday (October 25) that it had reached its first £2,500 target in less than a week.
It said: “This is a massive boost to our campaign ahead of the court hearing on November 1.
“The £2,500 raised so far goes a long way to meeting our costs in the High Court. You can still donate towards the stretch target.
“All the money raised will go towards meeting our legal costs and our work on this case. Any contributions will be a big help.”
Speaking after the review was granted, Marcus Binney, executive president of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “SAVE is deeply concerned at the way Westminster Council brushed aside its own conservation policy to allow this grossly over-scaled building in a conservation area and next to one of London’s great Victorian masterpieces.
“We hope this will open the way to a proper thorough reconsideration of this contentious application.”
The Cube building would be built on the former Royal Mail sort office building.
The Victorian Society has previously voiced opposition to the scheme, while NHS bosses have highlighted fears that ambulances may have problems accessing nearby St Mary’s Hospital.
SAVE’s crowdfunding page can be found here.
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