Shoreditch Works has received a planning resolution in favour from City Hall, clearing a major hurdle for an 11-building redevelopment on a 1.4-hectare site south of Shoreditch. The scheme includes 78 homes, 35 per cent of them affordable, and a highest building of 18 storeys. It is not yet a formally issued planning permission: the Deputy Mayor’s resolution is subject to a legal agreement with developer Linea Properties.
A decision transferred to City Hall
The site is bounded by Curtain Road, Scrutton Street, Worship Street and Holywell Row. The London mayor took over the application in March 2026 after Hackney Council had not determined it within the statutory period. The Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills, Jules Pipe, considered the application at a public representation hearing on 7 October and resolved to grant permission subject to completion of the agreement.
The decision followed a divided local process. Hackney planning officers recommended refusal, citing harm to heritage and concerns about the amount of affordable workspace and housing. In February, the council’s planning committee voted against that recommendation but deferred a formal decision. That vote was not itself an approval. The subsequent call-in made City Hall the decision-maker, rather than allowing the application to return to the borough committee for determination.
Homes and workspace commitments
The approved scheme combines new construction with the refurbishment and repurposing of existing buildings. It would provide 78 homes and more than 57,000 square metres of office space, alongside retail, community uses, public spaces and new pedestrian routes. The 35 per cent affordable housing share is a commitment in the scheme, not a statement that the homes are already funded, built or occupied.
The draft legal terms also set out 2,248 square metres of affordable workspace. Average rents across that space are capped at 40 per cent of market levels, while individual units could be let at up to 80 per cent. City Hall’s assessment was that this represented the maximum affordable workspace the project could viably provide. The council had sought a higher affordable-workspace share, making the terms a central point of disagreement.
There is a further mechanism tied to delivery. If the developer does not make substantial construction progress within 30 months of permission being granted, the scheme’s finances are to be reassessed. Any surplus profit must first be used for additional affordable homes on site, up to Hackney’s 50 per cent target; any remaining balance would go to the council for affordable housing elsewhere in the borough. The mechanism depends on the final legal agreement and future financial review, so it does not guarantee that the higher target will be reached.
Height, heritage and sequencing
The 18-storey Verso building is the tallest element. It was reduced from 19 storeys during the planning process, but officers remained concerned about its scale and effect on the surrounding conservation area. Pipe accepted that it sits outside a location Hackney designates as suitable for tall buildings, but concluded that the scheme’s overall benefits outweighed the heritage harm identified in the assessment.
The plans retain and restore listed buildings, including the Grade II* Philip Webb terrace and Grade II buildings at 103–105 Worship Street. Those works are scheduled for later phases, alongside the homes. Under the proposed terms, Linea could not occupy more than 85 per cent of newly built commercial space until the listed-building works are complete and all the homes are ready. This links the commercial benefit to delivery of the residential and heritage elements, although construction sequencing and viability will matter in practice.
The design also opens routes through a site that has not historically been permeable to the public, with pedestrian connections intended to remain open around the clock. New public space and a courtyard would sit among retained and rebuilt structures. Nearby residents may still experience impacts: the planning assessment identified significant daylight and sunlight losses at eight neighbouring properties on Curtain Road and Holywell Row.
What happens next
The legal agreement remains the decisive next step. City Hall set 21 January 2027 as the deadline for its completion; only after signing can the permission be formally issued. No construction start date has been announced. The resolution establishes the planning direction, while the agreement will determine the enforceable detail of the affordable housing, workspace, heritage and delivery obligations. Until it is signed, Shoreditch Works has approval in principle rather than an issued consent.
