A 17-storey office tower built over Southwark Tube station is set to be given the go-ahead.
The borough council’s planning committee is expected to approve Transport for London’s plans for the over-station development at its meeting this week. TfL will have an option to occupy the new office space itself, although this has not been confirmed.
TfL’s proposal is to knock down Algarve House, 49-56 Hatfields and 1 Joan Street and then to build a tower with roughly 285,000 sq ft of office space and about 2,550 sq ft of retail.
The council’s planning officers noted in their report that “numerous” past attempts to build over the station have failed because of the need to keep the Tube station open during construction, as well as the small floorplates that any over-station building would have.
“When the Underground station was originally constructed, the local area was very different and the property market less buoyant,” their report added. “This meant that any proposal to develop the area above the station was not financially viable at that point. In the intervening years, Bankside has developed into a key office location.”
TfL is also exploring further development opportunities in the borough that would see it redevelop bus stations with housing above to pay for upgrades below, as the transport network prepares for electric buses.
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