Developers Scale Back Office Block Plan

0:00It's February 26th. This episode is brought to you by NordVPN, fast, reliable online privacy. Links in the episode description. Here's your UK news in two minutes. Developers planning a new office block at one silk street, right opposite the Barbican, have scaled back their design following strong pushback from locals. The team from the Sal Investment Management, Lipton Rodgers, and Architect Skidmore, Oings and Merrill cut three stories from the Western section. After receiving around 1,000 objections, originally the project called for tearing down a 1980s building and replacing it with two towers, each 20 stories tall above the ground floor. Now the Western tower drops the 17 stories while the Eastern one stays at 20. Residents in the Barbican Quarter Action Group worry the buildings will still block light and invade privacy for nearby homes like Speedhouse and Cromwell Tower. They argue the tweaks do little to address those core issues from the start.

1:02The change is also trim office floor space by 5 percent and aim to preserve more daylight for neighbors. Developers claim this shows they've heard the feedback and focused on community gains. Meanwhile, the group calls for a full redesign pointing to other city projects that balance profit with respect for the area. As talks continue, the revised plan promise better public spaces around silk street.