New plans submitted for a housing development in an abandoned hospital in Bethnal Green promise to leave a historic tree favoured by Judi Dench in situ.
London-based architecture studio Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) has submitted plans on behalf of developers Latimer to build 274 new homes on the site of the old London Chest Hospital.
In AHMM’s design statement they stated: “The veteran Mulberry Tree is retained in its location and will be accessible to the community.”
Previous developers Crest Nicolson ran into controversy in 2017 when they announced plans to relocate a 400-year-old Mulberry Tree that sits in the hospital grounds.
Dame Judi Dench rallied to the cause, stating the idea of digging up the tree “filled her with horror”.
The star fronted a campaign from the East London Garden Society which argued relocating the tree would kill is. They took the developers to the high court and won in 2021, and the original development plans were shelved.
The East London Garden Society said it would be watching the new development plans closely.
“The Bethnal Green mulberry tree is indeed being cosseted, owing to the high court judgement,” chairmen Geoffrey Juden told Homes & Property.
“The point now to address is that when the building works begin the stress of the Bethnal Green mulberry tree may be a major factor,” he added.
“Building works in a conservation area must be treated with extreme sensitivity. Crest Nicolson failed to understand the situation. Latimer, the developers of the site, seem to have a more sensitive approach.”
The black mulberry tree is believed to be the oldest in the East End, and survived being bombed during the Blitz.
Founded in 1848 near Victoria Park, the London Chest Hospital treated patients with lung conditions such as tuberculosis, which was endemic in urban areas during the 19th and early 20th century.
The hospital closed in 2015 and the site was sold to housing association Clarion Housing Group and developers Crest Nicholson. Latimer, the current developers, is the development arm of Clarion.
Plans originally submitted for the site detailed designs for 291 new homes, 35 per cent of which would have been classes as “affordable” and were approved by Tower Hamlets Council until the high court reversed the decision.
The new plans submitted to the council detail plans for partially demolishing parts of the Grade II listed hospital buildings, while altering and refurbishing the South Wing and Sanitary Tower to create 54 homes.
New buildings on the site would be between five and nine stories and contain 220 new homes. Based on “habitable rooms” — rooms in a dwelling that can include kitchens but not bathrooms — 50 per cent of the homes are earmarked for “affordable” homes, 72 per cent of which would be at social rent, and the remainder shared ownership.
The other half would be sold at market rate.
“The majority of homes Latimer builds will always be for affordable tenures, but building homes for outright sale is crucial for our business,” Latimer by Clarion Housing Association said in the planning documents.
“[We are] recycling any profits we make from these private sales back into building and maintaining more affordable homes.”
Plans for regenerating the site include planting more trees and restoring public access.
However, the East London Garden Society warned that not all the existing trees would be preserved in the current plans.
“Twenty trees are to be felled for the development, we therefore became concerned with the reduction of oxygen in the locale, for this would affect the residents,” said Juden.
“Latimer has come back with an explanation of how the oxygen levels would be increased, although this is suspect,” he added.
“London in general has poor air quality, therefore there is a belief than any major project, especially in a conservation area the ecological status must be maintained.”
