Camden Council has rubber-stamped plans to remake Euston Tower as a life sciences and “innovation hub”, despite opposition to the project due to its negative environmental impact.
The Town Hall’s planning committee on Thursday 20 March gave consent to developer British Land’s application to demolish more than two-thirds of the current building, which stands north of Fitzrovia on the corner of Euston Road and Hampstead Road, and can be seen along Tottenham Court Road and from Fitzroy Square.
It is a landmark building and the second highest in the London Borough of Camden.
The new building will be considerably bulkier than the existing tower which is 36 storeys high (124.5 metres) and has nearly 55,000 square metres of gross internal area.
The new tower will be the same overall height but reduced to 32 storeys due to the taller floor-to-ceiling height, and have a total floorspace of nearly 80,000sqm — an uplift of around 25,000sqm.
British Land said it was “delighted” to have won approval to construct a “world-class” science and technology building.
“Euston Tower will be a blueprint for sustainable development, delivering an all-electric building fit for the future”, the company claimed.
The revamped tower will be home to new offices, including lab-enabled workspaces.
Camden’s decision comes despite opposition from those unconvinced by British Land’s commitment to sustainable building.
Climate Emergency Camden (CEC) pushed back against the plans, citing the risk the construction would have a deep carbon footprint, particularly from the potential emissions impact of steel and concrete cladding.
While the developers committed to keeping 31 percent of the original structure through “partial deconstruction”, CEC argued that this should be closer to 90 percent.
The activists also disputed the need for lab-enabled spaces in the area, suggesting they be placed in Canary Wharf’s unused towers instead.
In a deputation to the planning committee Alice Brown of CEC censured Camden’s planners and property developers for lack of action in the face of climate change.
“The harm from the up-front carbon is not addressed in the planning report,” she told councillors.
“Camden could use the National Planning Policy Framework which states that climate change should be mitigated. This would require Camden’s planners to think for themselves rather than accept the tools provided by the [Greater London Authority] for greenwashing business as usual.”
She called on the committee to “prioritise a liveable planet over developer profit” and reject the application.
In 2019, Camden Council declared a climate and ecological emergency and committed itself to making decisions based on this principle.
“Retrofitting buildings usually results in significantly lower up-front emissions because of the embodied carbon in existing structures,” says Architects Journal which is promoting the more climate-friendly RetroFirst design agenda.
Planning officers at Camden considered that refurbishment of the existing tower is “technically possible and more sustainable” but were persuaded by the developers that the proposals were “reasonable and therefore acceptable in terms of sustainability”.
Friends of Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill also objected to the plans, claiming the revamped tower would have an “overbearing form” and will be “prominently” visible from these parks.
Royal Parks similarly argued that it would damage the views from Kensington Gardens and Primrose Hill.
But planning officers assessed the impact is “less than substantial”, and that public benefits from the project will outweight any harm to the area.
British Land has proposed £27mn towards the delivery of 28 affordable housing units off-site, at Tybald’s Estate in Holborn, as part of the application.
This won the full backing from Regent’s Park councillors Nasim Ali (Labour) who praised the developer’s “sustainable and inclusive” vision for the building, and Nadia Shah (Labour) who said it would bring benefit to the local community and Camden.
The council’s local plan had identified the surrounding Euston Area, to which the tower is adjacent, as a zone where it expects to see the “most significant growth”.
British Land’s head of development, David Lockyer, added that the building’s Euston Road location, “where the Knowledge Quarter meets the West End”, will allow businesses to benefit from nearby academic and research institutions.
The demolition and construction work will cause significant noise and disruption to the surrounding area.
According to the draft construction management plan submitted with the planning application, the project will take around five-and-a-half years to complete.
The tower was notably once the home of Capital Radio in the 1970s and British satellite company Inmarsat.
Its new design will be led by Danish architectural firm 3XN GXN, with support from British architects Adamson Associates and DSDHA Studio.
Camden’s decision will now be put to the Mayor of London for final approval.
Camden Council planning committee, Thursday 20 March 2025. Euston Tower, 286 Euston Road, London NW1 3DP. Agenda. Webcast. Planning application.
Additional reporting by Linus Rees.
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