Source: Morris & Co / Ballymore

Morris & Co’s Cuba Street proposals for Ballymore

Delayed plans for a 52-storey residential tower in Canary Wharf have been handed a lifeline following the agreement of a £180m funding deal with Homes England and Barclays.

The loan facility agreed with developers Ballymore and Penta Real Estate means work on the 434-home Cuba Street scheme can progress, four years after the Morris & Co-designed tower was redesigned to add second staircases.

Original plans for a 421-home single-staircase tower on the site were pulled from a Tower Hamlets planning committee in 2022 after the London Fire Brigade raised concerns about the lack of a second means of escape for residents.

A revised scheme with two staircases was then approved the following March but worsening viability in London’s ailing housing market prompted a second revision in 2024 to increase the number of homes to 434 and cut the number of affordable homes from 100 to 58.

The reduced share of affordable was then challenged by the Greater London Authority at a public inquiry, arguing forecast growth would make the original number of affordable homes viable.

The revised scheme was approved in 2022 before another revision was signed off in 2024

But the inspector ruled in favour of the amendments on the grounds that the maximum viable level of affordable housing should be set at the costs present at the planning stage, not future values.

Early works on the site started in September last year, with Ballymore and Penta Real Estate describing the agreement of the financing deal as a “major milestone for the partnership” which would enable the scheme to move forward.

Homes England assistant director of structured real estate finance Neil Elliott said: “As the government’s housing and regeneration agency, our aim is to help public and private sector partners to unlock strategic housing sites across England and we are committed to helping developers of all sizes to achieve their ambitions.

“The Cuba Street development is a demonstration of a long-term commitment from Ballymore, to transform a former industrial site into new, high-quality homes.”

Other firms working on the scheme include Pick Everard as adviser to the principal designer, WSP as structural engineer and fire consultant and Rolfe Judd as planning consultant.