Veterans have criticised plans for a 20-storey tower next to the Union Jack Club in Waterloo after an attempt to have them thrown out was rejected.
The social club, established in 1976 on Waterloo’s Sandell Street, provides a “home from home” for current and ex-members of the Armed Forces, with rooms, a restaurant and a library.
But it fears that approved plans for an “overbearing” 20-storey office block next door would block sunlight from 60 of 261 rooms and lead to a “significant” loss of views from the club.
D-Day veteran Peter Kent, 98, told the Daily Mail: “It’s wrong, they ought to leave it be. This is a special place, it should be protected from development like this.”
The plans, submitted by Grandseal Ltd, were approved by Lambeth Council in October last year.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan declined to call in the plans, and Housing Secretary Michael Gove also rejected an appeal to central Government last week, to the dismay of the club.
Speaking against the plans at planning committee, Vern Stokes OBE, a garrison sergeant major in the army, said: “The armed forces community and the club do not deserve to exist in the shadows. Its members merit a home from home.
“Allowing the Union Jack Club to be in the shadows of a corporate development… It’s a step backwards and not what our brave veterans, serving soldiers and their families deserve.”
However, the applicants said at the time it had sought to address the the club’s concerns about light by moving the tallest part of the planned tower further away.
It said that the majority of the club’s veterans would be “relatively unaffected” by the proposal, because only one of its facades faced towards the tower.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson said its planning committee had “very carefully considered all concerns” before approving the application, saying it would create an estimated additional 1,900 new jobs and unlock £1.25m in funding for local parks and green spaces.
“The Secretary of State has confirmed his agreement to allow Lambeth to determine the planning application so there’s no delay in bringing forward a comprehensive range of public benefits on this key site in Waterloo,” the spokesperson said.
A spokesperson for Bourne Capital, which owns the land and was established by millionaire Labour supporter Robert Bourne, said it had “worked exhaustively” to address the club’s concerns over daylight, and had made amendments to the plans in response.
Development Director Phil Botes said: “While it is true there are impacts on daylight and sunlight, namely to one of the Union Jack Club’s eight building facades, it is impossible to develop in an urban location – particularly within an Opportunity Area such as Waterloo – without any impact which has been mitigated by the substantial amendments made during the course of our engagement with the UJC.
“The proposals have been scrutinised by Lambeth Council, local resident and business amenity groups, the GLA, English Heritage / Historic England and the Secretary of State.
“With the exception of the Union Jack Club and its members, the development has not received any significant opposition which is unusual for a development in an inner urban location and we believe speaks volumes to the benefits of Waterloo Central.”
