600-bed proposal called in by London mayor in spring gets approval three years after first being refused by Westminster council

Make Architects’ plans for a 20-storey student accommodation scheme in Paddington have been given the green light by London’s deputy mayor after twice being refused planning by Westminster council.

The 605-bedroom proposals for Unite Students and Travis Perkins were thrown out by councillors in January due to its height, scale and impact on daylight on nearby residents.

This followed a previous refusal for a larger 768-home version of the job in 2022, which had itself been scaled back from the original 22-storey plan containing 843 homes.

Make Paddington 2

Aerial view of how Make’s plans for the building will look when built

But the scheme was called in in March by London mayor Sadiq Khna and last week was given approval by his deputy Jules Pipe.

Pipe, who is deputy mayor of London for planning, regeneration and skills, accepted the recommendation of the Greater London Authority’s planning officers to approve the scheme.

Pipe heard from Westminster residents that the proposals would lead to harm to the residents of Sheldon Square and agreed that these impacts were the “inevitable” consequence of the scheme.

“While I accept the losses of daylight and sunlight are high, it is considered that the retained levels are within the acceptable ranges given the urban context,” he said.

He said the design and layout of the scheme was “well considered” and that while there was “some harm” to heritage assets, it was “less than substantial” and outweighed by the benefits of the scheme.

The scheme would see the demolition and replacement of an existing Travis Perkins branch on the canal-side site with student accommodation located above, along with a new canal path and public realm.

The site is located behind Paddington station and next to Fletcher Priest’s Brunel Building which was built by Laing O’Rourke.

The project team includes Gerald Eve on planning, Arup on transport, GIA on daylight, Tavernor Consultancy on heritage, Waterman on MEP, Meinhardt as structural and facade engineer, BDP as landscape architect and AtkinsRealis as principal designer.

The developers have also committed to deliver 30% on-site affordable as well as a £3.5m payment in lieu for further affordable housing delivery in the borough.

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