19 November 2004
London Mayor Ken Livingstone has vetoed for a second time a £1bn plan to build a giant, privately-financed hospital in the capital's East End, leaving the project behind schedule and exposed to possible cost increases.
Livingstone announced on November 15 that the amended planning application for the redevelopment of the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, submitted by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the Barts & the London NHS Trust, 'would require significant further amendments'.
The mayor can direct councils to refuse planning permission under the Greater London Authority Act 1999 and the Town and Country Planning Order 2000.
Livingstone first vetoed the 18-storey project in August, citing issues about safety and the layout of wards. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment also raised concerns over the way the building would look. The mayor has outlined plans to protect the capital's skyline in his London Plan.
Following the resubmitted application, the mayor's office said it was satisfied the original concerns had been addressed. But Livingstone added he 'would still be minded to direct refusal' because 'the overall design would still blight, rather than improve, the local townscape'.
However, he has welcomed a third Tower Hamlets proposal, known as 'Option C', which is not the council's preferred choice, but would address lingering concerns. A spokesman for Tower Hamlets said: 'It is hoped that [a third] application can be submitted to the council's development committee early in the New Year.'
Privately, however, project sources are unhappy with the mayor's second refusal. One told Public Finance: 'The plan was to start building in January. That's out of the question and there is a risk of delays and cost overruns. I'm not sure who foots the bill if that happens.'
Paul White, chief executive of Barts & London, said: 'Our [private] partner, Skanska Innisfree, will work with us on how to make the additional changes without compromising the hospital's affordability or clinical functionality.'
A separate row has erupted over another Private Finance Initiative hospital in London. Architect Alan Spence lodged a judicial review application at the High Court on November 15, arguing that plans for the new University College Hospital flout NHS Estates' guidance on space between patients' beds.
The trust said the hospital was approved prior to the new regulations.
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