Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios' social housing experiment dropped
- Published: 16 November 2007 11:02
- Author: Richard Waite
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- Last Updated: 16 November 2007 12:14
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Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBS) has lost its battle to build the potentially groundbreaking £53 million Mildmay Urban Village in Shoreditch, east London.
The client, consortium Mildmay Urban Village Partners, has decided not to continue an appeal against last November's refusal by Tower Hamlets Council to allow the huge edge-of-city scheme, hailed as a social experiment in 'supportive housing'.
Led by homeless charity Crisis UK, the Genesis Housing Group and English Partnerships, the consortium had wanted to build a massive 400-home social and private development, featuring a controversial 23-storey tower which would have been the first of its kind in the UK.
However, the group announced that the planning appeal had been withdrawn by 'mutual consent' and had gone back to the drawing board to start again.
A spokesman for Mildmay said: 'While this particular project will no longer be pursued, the social merit of the proposals for the site is embraced by all parties involved in its regeneration. [We] will now seek ways to bring forward an alternative scheme that will embrace the spirit of the original proposed development and align with the needs and aspirations of local people.'
He added: 'Future plans for the site will be developed in partnership with the local community and a consultation strategy will be implemented to give residents and key stakeholders the opportunity to fully engage with the project.'
It is unclear at this stage whether FCBS will be retained on the scheme, which was originally based on the Common Ground project – a successful US programme that helps to house homeless people.
