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Camden council has voted to approved Landsec鈥檚 1,800-home redevelopment of the O2 shopping centre in north London.

Councillors voted to back the planning officer鈥檚 recommendation to approve the AHMM-designed scheme at a planning committee meeting yesterday evening.

It was the latest large project in the capital to be sent back to the drawing board so that second staircases could be added following mayor Sadiq Khan鈥檚 new fire safety ruling.

Revised plans were lodged with the council last month after the government鈥檚 proposal to ban single staircases in blocks above 30m in December was followed by Khan鈥檚 announcement that the rules would be brought in with immediate effect in London.

Khan鈥檚 move means that all planning applications for residential buildings above 10 storeys would need a second means of escape before going to the Greater London Authority for second stage approval. The rule applies to all applications not approved before 23 December 2022.

Camden council said the second staircases had been added with 鈥渞elatively minimal鈥� impact on layouts, which has been achieved by removing pressurised stairs and lift systems.

The redevelopment consists of 10 development plots spread across a 6ha site, with the application鈥檚 detailed component set to include just over 600 homes in blocks ranging from 30m to 60m in height. 

Two further components which have been submitted for outline approval would see the construction of a further 1,200 homes. Around 35% of homes across the site would be affordable.

Construction is expected to last around 10 to 15 years. Also on the project team is programme advisor Mace, planning consultant Gerald Eve, transport consultant Arup, sustainability consultant Buro Happold, MEP consultant Hoare Lea, civil and structural engineer Pell Frischmann, landscape consultant East and accessibility consultant David Bonnett Associates.

The scheme has already stoked controversy due to the intention to demolish the HOK-designed O2 shopping centre, which was built in 1998 and purchased by Landsec in 2010.

Nearly 1,000 letters of objection were received by the application, with many locals raising concerns about sustainability and the loss of the O2鈥檚 retail space which includes a gym, a swimming pool and a large Sainsbury鈥檚.

Local group, Combined Residents鈥� Associations of South Hampstead, criticised the demolition of the 鈥渘early-new鈥� shopping centre and its replacement by 鈥済rotesque Soviet-era towers鈥�, while the West Hampstead Gardens and Residents Association said the new buildings were uninteresting, incoherent and failed to integrate with the mostly low-rise Edwardian and Victorian housing stock of the area.

Local MP Tulip Siddiq also said she had 鈥渞epeatedly鈥� raised her constituents鈥� concerns with Landsec, which included worries that the buildings were too tall, incongruent with the surrounding area and dismay over the loss of the O2.

Camden council鈥檚 planning officer admitted the demolition of the shopping centre was 鈥渞egrettable in sustainability terms鈥� but said it could not be suitable repurposed for residential use.

The officer鈥檚 report added that the building was of 鈥渓ow quality in design terms鈥� and does not make efficient use of its land, while the replacement buildings would be much better integrated with the nearby Finchley Road town centre.

A condition on the application commits Landsec to divert at least 95% of demolition waste from landfill for either reuse or recycling.

Other buildings on the site set to be flattened under the plans include a Homebase store, two car showrooms and a builders鈥� merchants yard, while two car parks with a combined 630 spaces will be built over.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Foster & Partners has said a three-month delay to the submission of plans for Lipton Rogers鈥� 拢1bn 18 Blackfriars Road scheme, which includes two residential towers, has not been caused by the requirement for second staircases as both towers already included them. 鈥淭he two residential towers have two staircases as they always had,鈥� she added.