Controversial demolition of closed Museum of London and neighbouring office block expected to go through

The plans are being discussed by councillors on April 17

A scheme to demolish the closed Museum of London building and neighbouring office block Bastion House by the Barbican is expected to be passed by planners at the City of London Corporation, according to a report.

Plans to demolish the landmark buildings, which were built in the 1970s, and replace them with a 780,000 sq ft office block are due to be heard at a meeting on Wednesday April 17.

The Architects Journal reported council officers will propose approving the demolition, despite around 870 comments opposing the plan.

The magazine said it had seen a letter sent to objectors by the chief planning officer saying he “will recommend that [the scheme] be approved”.

A City of London spokesperson said: “No officer recommendation has been formally cast in relation to this planning application.”

Members of the campaign group Barbican Quarter Action (BQA) said the response of the chief planning officers “dropped a very big hint about what the City thinks about the public”.

In a statement published online, they said “decisions that affect not just us but future generations deserve better conversations”.

It added the expected decision, which it described as “questionable”, would end up “severely compromising the Barbican’s distinctive igloo roofscape”.

The Barbican Centre is Grade II listed but there is an exemption for the former museum and Bastion House which means they can be demolished.

The museum is now closed ahead of its move to a new site at Smithfield and its old home was originally earmarked for the location of a new concert hall in the city but that plan was scrapped in 2021.

Other campaigners have called for the buildings to be retained and retrofitted to make them more environmentally friendly while pointing out the damage to the environment of the demolition and rebuild.

Green Party London Assembly member Zack Polanski said tearing down the buildings and replacing them with this scheme would “release over 45,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere”.

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