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An architect and veteran campaigner has launched a judicial review of Camden council鈥檚 decision to approve DSDHA鈥檚 plans for a 鈥渕onstrous鈥� 19-storey office tower in Bloomsbury.

James Monahan of Monahan Blythen Hopkins Architects has asked the High Court to look into the lawfulness of Camden鈥檚 approval of the One Museum Street scheme, arguing the council has failed in its duty to protect heritage assets.

The highly controversial proposals for client BC Partners were signed off in November last year despite objections from Historic England, the Georgian Group, Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage and the London School of Economics.

More than 500 letters objecting to the planning application were also sent in by locals, including film-maker Mike Leigh and Victorian Society president Griff Rhys Jones.

The mixed-use scheme would replace the 1960s Selkirk House, a 17-storey former Travelodge hotel, with 44 homes and 22,650 sq m of office space. It would also include three six-storey buildings and one five-storey block containing housing and retail space.

But campaign group Save Museum Street, of which Monahan is a member, have said the plans would damage the setting of the Bloomsbury and Covent Garden conservation areas and the nearby grade I-listed British Museum, Bedford Square and Nicholas Hawksmoor鈥檚 St George鈥檚 Church.

Monahan鈥檚 case will argue that Camden council鈥檚 decision to approve the scheme had not adhered to requirements within national planning policies, the London Plan and the borough鈥檚 own local planning policies.

鈥淭he decision to grant permission for a monstrous, speculative office tower in Museum Street, which had attracted massive opposition, is one of the worst examples of a fawning attitude of the planners towards developers,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t sets a precedent for similar or even taller towers that will soon obliterate the historic character of central London.鈥�

>> Also read: Controversial Bloomsbury tower set for approval

The judicial review is the latest bid launched by Monahan, who was part of a campaign to stop plans to redevelop parts of Covent Garden in the 1970s and 1980s.

Prior to last year鈥檚 decision to approve the scheme, Monahan, whose practice is based on Clerkenwell Road, proposed an alternative approach for the site which would see the existing Selkirk House refurbished and neighbouring buildings restored, which was not taken into consideration by the council.

鈥淐amden鈥檚 planning officers did not listen and the political elite, complacently sitting on their massive Labour majority, nodded the approval through at Camden鈥檚 planning committee,鈥� he said.

鈥淪enior Camden politicians give every indication that they do not care, and are far too busy eying up parliamentary seats, and senior planners just move on to pastures new and leave their mistakes behind. It all sounds like a very familiar story but this time Camden council鈥檚 planning committee and planning officers are being held to account.鈥�

The approved scheme is the third incarnation of the proposals, following earlier plans by DSDHA for a 21-storey tower on the site which were revised.

Historic England said the latest plans would still exacerbate the 鈥渧isual discordance鈥� caused by the existing building in views of the nearby historic buildings due to the proposed tower鈥檚 height and bulk.

Save Britain鈥檚 Heritage objected to the proposals because of the impact of the tower element, which is 20m higher than the existing tower, and also what it described as the scheme鈥檚 鈥渟ubstantially harmful and disproportionate鈥� carbon cost.

Sustainability guru Simon Sturgis鈥� Targeting Zero consultancy calculated that demolishing Selkirk House would result in 鈥渁pproximately 64,000 tonnes of unnecessary carbon emissions over the next 60 years鈥� under DSDHA鈥檚 original 2021 plans.

Camden council, BC Partners and DSDHA have been contacted for comment.