City of London councillors have approved revised conditions for a significant development at 1 Silk Street, a phased project involving demolition and construction to create new office, community, cultural, and retail spaces. The development will comprise a basement level, ground and 20 upper storeys, and a roof plant level, totalling 85,937 sq.m of office use, alongside various other flexible uses.
The Planning Applications Sub-Committee met on Wednesday 08 July 2026 to discuss the conditions for the development. A key decision was made regarding condition 67, concerning concrete reuse. Following debate and a motion put forward by Alderman Elizabeth King, it was agreed that concrete crushing would be moved off-site.
This decision was made after concerns were raised by Alderman King and other members about the potential noise and amenity impacts of on-site concrete crushing in a residential area. Condition 67's significance lies in its sustainability purpose, aiming to explore and assess the possibility of reusing concrete as part of the broader plan to address whole-life carbon sustainability. Environmental Health officers had previously provided reassurance that on-site crushing was unlikely and that mitigations would be in place. Specifically, Rachel, Assistant Director of Public Protection, stated that Environmental Health would be satisfied as long as the World Health Organization standard for nighttime sleeping periods (11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) was maintained for residents, and that the proposed condition exceeded this standard. She also mentioned that best environmental options
would be included at every point, and that whether there'll be concrete crushes, the hours of work, how we accommodate the neighbours, both the school, residential neighbours, etc.
would be taken into account at the detailed discussion stage. If on-site crushing had proceeded, it would have been mitigated under the scheme of protective works, both during construction and deconstruction.
Beyond the concrete crushing relocation, the revised conditions for the development include amendments to servicing hours. A motion to bring forward the no servicing hours from 23:00 to 21:00 was narrowly defeated. The committee ultimately voted to approve revised officer recommendations for more restrictive servicing hours than previously proposed. Regarding terraces, a motion to amend the hours to 19:00 was amended to 20:00 and subsequently approved. For a further set of doors for noise containment, a motion to include double lobbies on restaurant units was withdrawn, and officers agreed to engage with the developer to encourage proper management of noise.
The committee then voted to approve all recommendations as amended through the various conversations, which was carried. Further details on the development can be found in the Information Pack and the Public reports pack for the meeting.
