Project Showcase
www.iceniprojects.com
An Introduction to Iceni Projects
A Multi-skilled Consultancy
Formed in 2005, Iceni is now the market leader and preferred consultancy for a fast-growing number of clients. From our offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, and Manchester, we deliver on a variety of schemes across the UK.
We have always sought to provide the “skills of a planner with the instincts of a developer”. The technical specialisms that the company hold have widened, but this fundamental objective remains the same. We are committed to putting our client’s interests first – and providing them with the tools to significantly improve their performance.
We achieve this by knowing our tradecraft – the technical skills that come through years of education and on-the- job experience that is recognised by professional accreditation. But it is also daring to be different; being proactive and thinking strategically. Our client relationships are built on trust, togetherness, enthusiasm, and a courage to challenge, where appropriate.
We are able to provide specialist advice in the fields of archaeology; built heritage and townscape; delivery; design; EIA management; engagement; planning;
sustainable development and transport. Our team are talented, relentless, intelligent, bold and experienced. Individually or collectively, you’ll know when you’re with Iceni Projects.
To Iceni, thinking strategically is what we fundamentally believe to be the right way of doing things; to assess needs, evaluate constraints and maximise opportunities. It’s about having a strategic vision for a site, often looking beyond the immediate constraint of development management policies, and utilising a diverse range of skills to deliver large scale infrastructure and development projects.
We have the expertise to deliver strategic planning at a sub-regional and local level, advising local authorities on evidence and strategy development across England. Our services include advising local authorities on aligning their evidence on housing need and economic growth, to deliver a collaborative approach to strategic planning.
Tower Bridge Court, Southwark
St Giles Circus, Camden
Former Foyles Site, Soho
Your Strategic Adviser
Birmingham
The Colmore Building 20 Colmore Circus Birmingham, B4 6AT T: 0121 262 4148
Edinburgh 7 Alva Street Edinburgh, EH2 4PH T: 0131 370 3486
Glasgow
201 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2LW T: 0141 465 4996
London
Da Vinci House 44 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH T: 020 3640 8508
Manchester
Dalton Place 29 John Dalton Street, Manchester, M2 6FW T: 0161 509 2840
The Team Structure of Iceni Projects
Ian Anderson Chief Executive
Andrew Gale Chief Operating Officer
James Bompas Director | Business Devt. & Strategic Planning
ARCHAEOLOGY
Claire Cogar Director
BUILT HERITAGE & TOWNSCAPE
Laurie Handcock Director
Nick Walker Director
DESIGN
Jonathan Stewart Director
Paul Drew Director
ECONOMICS
Nick Ireland Director
Matt Kinghan Director
Paul McColgan Director
ENGAGEMENT & PLACE
Gemma Gallant Director
Philippa Curran Director
IMPACT MANAGEMENT
James Jaulim Director
LANDSCAPE
Silke Gruner Director
PLANNING
Callum Fraser Director
Chris Jones Director
Kieron Hodgson Director
Leona Hannify Director
Lewis Westhoff Director
Lorna O’Carroll Director
Nick Grant Director
Simon Fowler Director
TRANSPORT
Clive Burbridge Director
Gary Mappin Director
Ian Gallacher Director
Ian Mayhead Director
James Waterhouse Director
Jamie Sullivan Director
John Mumby Director
Fred Peters Director
Mike England Director
Rob Amey Director
St Giles Circus Tottenham Court Road
As part of its ongoing work for Consolidated Developments, Iceni obtained a resolution to grant planning permission from Camden Council in March 2016 for the latest set of amendments to the approved £90m St Giles Circus development in the West End, alongside a number of new planning permissions and listed building consents for the development of the site. Designed by architects Orms, the revised scheme includes the delivery of two new primary street buildings on St Giles High Street, Andrew Borde St and Charing Cross Road, as well as the refurbishment of two listed buildings on Denmark Place.
The larger of the two new buildings, which will total 9,290 sqm, includes a ground-breaking urban gallery which will provide a publicly accessible curated space incorporating 1,800 sqm of digital screens. The urban gallery will be used for a combination of brand launches, retail, advertising and screenings and will be operated in conjunction with a 2,000 person capacity music and events venue contained within a 2,800 sqm basement box underneath the site. The smaller building, which will total 4,650 sqm, will include a mix of retail, leisure, hotel and office use, with rooftop restaurants and bars.
Incorporating the music heritage of Denmark Street, St Giles Circus is a culturally significant site set to benefit from the £1bn transformation of Tottenham Court Road station and the arrival of Crossrail.
Iceni have now been advising on the project for over 5 years and are currently managing all planning aspects of the project as the construction process nears completion. Throughout the construction process we have managed the discharge of all planning conditions, S106 obligations, additional listed building consents and secured permission for multiple amendments through S96a and S73 applications, working collaboratively with the Council throughout.
Former Foyles Bookshop
Soho
Iceni Projects provided advice and advocacy to Soho Estates in support of the scheme for the ambitious redevelopment of the former Foyles Site, known as Ilona Rose House.
The Site, in the Soho Conservation Area, and containing both listed buildings and undesignated heritage assets has gained consent for its total redevelopment, with work now underway to develop a building of 9 storeys above ground, and four basements below. A mixed use scheme, it will deliver a mixture of shops, offices, build-to-rent apartments, restaurants, shops, bars and a nightclub; capturing Soho’s character, it also includes a film editing studio.
Working with Matt Architecture and SODA, Iceni were able to use detailed analysis, and a robust argument, to persuade the City of Westminster of the acceptability of the scheme, despite objections from Historic England, the Victorian Society, and SAVE Britain’s Heritage.
The scheme will create a landmark new building for Charing Cross Road, close to the new Crossrail Station at Tottenham Court Road, as well as new public realm, and a new thorough from Greek Street to Manette Street.
Museum Street
Holborn
We are currently advising Lab Tech on the comprehensive redevelopment of this prominent site in Holborn. The site is currently occupied by 16 storey Travel Lodge hotel and a multi-storey NCP car park, representing one of the final available development sites in the wider St Giles regeneration area.
The site represents a rare Central London opportunity to bring forward an iconic development in the heart of one London’s most important opportunity areas. The site occupies a strategically important and prominent position within the opportunity area and is surrounded by several high-profile development sites that have either been built out or are in the planning pipeline. Through these new developments, the area is be transformed into a thriving new mixed use community.
We are currently working collaboratively with Camden Council and the GLA through extensive pre-application discussions to bring forward a major mixed use development on the site. The emerging proposed development would provide circa 300 hotel rooms, 7,000sqm of office floorspace which will include start-up incubator space, extensive retail at ground and upper levels, circa 35 residential apartments, the refurbishment of listed buildings fronting on to Oxford Street and major public realm improvements.
Nike Town
Oxford Street
Nike Town are one of the primary tenants at 214-236 Oxford Street. Their overarching ambition was to enhance their retail offer and the customer experience at the site, providing a bespoke retail offer which would extend their existing retail floorspace to the upper levels of this iconic Grade II listed building.
Iceni obtained planning permission for extensive works to the listed building and changes of use to enable a pioneering ‘lastmile’ trainer delivery service. The new floorspace will be used to create a new unique, interactive shopping experience, which would also be able to host promotional events, and for the first time provide public access to the grand vaulted fourth floor space within this Grade II listed building.
We have advised Nike Town in connection with their wider ambitions to transform their current retail operations at the Oxford Street site from the standard retail experience to a “House of Innovation” store which would result in Nike Town’s London store becoming known globally, similar to their current New York and Shanghai stores and proposed stores in Paris and Tokyo. Iceni demonstrated to Westminster Council that Nike Town’s ambition to transform the London store to a globally prestigious store would support the Council’s ambition to retain Oxford Street as the retail centre of London and a world class retail destination.
Iceni also provided advice and obtained planning permission for alterations to a ground floor retail unit on the corner of Oxford Street and Great Portland Street including installation of a new shopfront and signage along both frontages. The resulting proposal provides a new, high quality shopfront and improves access arrangements to the existing retail unit on this Grade II listed building.
Odeon Cinema
Shaftesbury Avenue
We are currently acting as lead planning consultant on the delivery of a hotel-led mixed use scheme for the Grade II listed Odeon building at 135-149 Shaftesbury Avenue.
The proposals involve the excavation and reconfiguration of this iconic building to provide a new boutique 4 screen cinema with a 100 bed hotel above. The proposals also include spa facilities, a roof top terrace and bar, with further bar, restaurant and leisure space at ground floor level.
The current scheme proposes the ‘hollowing out’ of the existing building having successfully made the case that the external façades of the listed building hold the historic interest rather than the heavily altered interiors. A new 10 storey building comprised of 3 basement levels with 7 levels above ground will then be constructed within the skin of the host building.
This is an extremely complex development and positive negotiations with Camden officers, in particular Neil MacDonald, Bethany Cullen and Ed Jarvis, around the minimum viable quantum of development for this valued listed building are vital to the project’s success.
Hyde Park Barracks
Knightsbridge
Following an extensive competition process, Iceni Projects won the instruction to advise Northacre on this highly prominent site in the heart of Knightsbridge.
The site has a unique history and represents a rare major Central London regeneration opportunity. It provides a oneoff opportunity to re-connect this part of Knightsbridge and re-integrate it into the wider area physically, socially and economically. Westminster’s identification of the site as a Strategic Housing site indicated their view that the clearance and comprehensive redevelopment of the site can, and should be achieved. A key part of this of this was the inclusion on the site of a replacement tall building, which had raised significant objection from a range of influential heritage stakeholders.
We advised Northacre on developing their planning strategy for the site, focussing on developing a clear understanding of the area and local policy requirements, setting out the engagement strategy for working with a wide range of influential local stakeholders, with the objective to provide a comprehensive range of social and economic benefits.
The Ten Room, Café Royal
Piccadilly
Working for the Alrov Property Group, the team were tasked with negotiating changes to this important space, as part of proposals to change how the 5* Hotel Café Royal’s reception and restaurant facilities work.
The Ten Room, interestingly, is a recreation of a lost historic space, introduced into the Grade II listed building as part of the redevelopment of the Site from 2008-2012. As part of the scheme to develop the new Hotel Café Royal, a makeweight scheme was consented, involving the recreation of the Ten Room to offset the loss of historic spaces elsewhere in the building. Having been created entirely from photographs, the Art Deco space had been found, in the years since the hotel’s reopening, to be not entirely successful, particularly in terms of its lighting.
Iceni worked to justify a series of alterations to the space which, while retaining the spirit of the space as a historic replica, improved the space’s functionality and experience, making good on some of the issues that arose from creating a replica from photographs alone. Consent has now been granted for a series of changes that result in the Ten Room becoming a new reception for the Hotel, incorporating new light fittings and other changes to the space.
Tower Bridge Court
Southwark
Iceni have recently secured a resolution to grant planning permission from Southwark’s planning committeeon behalf of Landid and Fore Partnership for proposals to extend and refurbish the existing buildings of Tower Bridge Court to provide circa 30,000 sqm of flexible commercial floorspace alongside active ground floor uses.
This has followed an extensive engagement process with the London Borough of Southwark, Historic England and a number of local amenity groups of the Shad Thames area. Iceni worked closely with the architects, Stiff & Trevillion, on the distribution of massing across the site and the approach to design.
This work has included the use of visual analysis and Vu.City 3D modelling to demonstrate that the proposal would sit comfortably within the existing riverfront environment, utilising contextual materiality and adopting the local warehouse aesthetic through a contemporary architectural approach.
Newton Road
Bayswater
Iceni Projects advised and secured planning consent on behalf of the London Diocesan Fund for the comprehensive refurbishment and extension of their building in Bayswater, Westminster to provide new improved purpose-built Use Class D1 floorspace for continued use by the National Health Service (NHS).
The scheme has emerged from the ambition of securing the long-term future Use Class D1 floorspace on site to provide the NHS with purpose-built, flexible and modern facility including the reconfiguration of the entrance to provide level access for visitors which widens the offer to the local community needs.
The scheme also includes the delivery of 9 residential dwellings through the sensitive conversion and extension of the existing building.
Iceni are currently advising on a number of amendments to the scheme to further improve the floorspace and enable the longterm use of the building.
Commercial Road
Whitechapel
We advised Regal London on the redevelopment of this City Fringe site with a high end aparthotel scheme. The scheme was referable to the Greater London Authority and was approved at the Council’s Strategic Development Committee in March 2019.
The scheme comprises a 14 storey building and will provide 160 contemporary apartment style hotel rooms, together with a new restaurant and bar at ground floor level which will be accessible to the public. The site is adjacent to the Myrdle Street Conservation Area and a number of important listed building, therefore justifying a tall building on the site has been a key planning issue. The wider area has seen a significant increase in development activity in recent years, particularly through new tall buildings.
Iceni previously advised Regal London and helped achieve planning permission for an office scheme on the site in 2017.
Old Kent Road
Southwark
We are currently advising Toys R Us Properties (UK) Ltd on the redevelopment of the 760 Old Kent Road with a major new above station mixed use development.
The site represents a unique opportunity to bring forward an iconic development in the heart of one London’s most important regeneration areas. The site occupies a strategically important and prominent position within the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area and is surrounded by several high-profile development sites, that either have planning permission or are in the planning pipeline. Through these new developments and regeneration, the area will be transformed from an isolated former retail and industrial thoroughfare into one of London’s new thriving mixed use communities.
Being the future location of one of the Bakerloo Line Extension stations, 760 Old Kent Road represents one of the most important sites on the Old Kent Road. We are currently in preapplication discussions and are working collaboratively with the Council, GLA and TfL to bring forward multi-level mixed use development that will deliver a new Bakerloo Line underground station, a new town centre and public square, a significant number of new homes and commercial uses, all within a series of high density tall buildings rising up to 48 storeys.
Creechurch Lane
City of London
Iceni Projects were appointed by Merchant Land Investment Ltd to provide Townscape, Heritage, and Visual Impact Assessment services in support of applications for a tall building development within the City of London.
The redevelopment of the Site includes the demolition of a smaller, 5 storey office block, located within the Eastern Cluster, which was identified as not utilising the full potential of the Site, to be replaced with a 20 storey building comprising office and retail and associated works which has been developed by Assael Architecture.
As the Site is within the City of London, a number of highly significant heritage assets are within its immediate and wider setting, including the Grade I listed Bevis Marks Synagogue, Grade II* listed Former Port of London Authority Building, and the Tower of London World Heritage Site. Iceni Heritage were commissioned to provide advice regarding the setting of these sensitive heritage assets.
As well as detailed analysis on the setting of heritage assets, the height of the scheme required analysis of views and townscape impacts, with key views agreed with City of London, which included viewpoints within the LVMF.
Charlie Ratchford Resource Centre
Camden Town
We are advising Galliford Try Partnerships on the redevelopment of the Former Charlie Ratchford Resource Centre site on Crogsland Road. The site is being brought forward in partnership with the London Borough of Camden as part of the Camden Investment Programme (‘CIP’).
We are currently engaging in extensive pre-application discussions with the Council, the Greater London Authority and key stakeholders, and are seeking to bring forward a high density residential development on the site. The site represents a unique development opportunity in Camden, being a brownfield site in an accessible location, unrestricted in terms of heritage and impacts on adjacent sites, and therefore capable of being optimised in line with the Mayor’s ‘Good Growth’ agenda.
The site is linked through an affordable housing credit to another site on Crogsland Road, which is being brought forward for as a 100% affordable housing scheme for 38 ‘extra care’ units. The complex affordable housing credit requires 50% affordable housing to be delivered across the two sites and Iceni are currently engaging in extensive discussions with the Council and their Legal team over the interpretation of the credit and how it should be applied.
The current scheme ranges in height from 5 to 10 storeys and seeks to delivery 115 residential units, predominantly comprising of 1 and 2 bedroom units. The site presents a number of challenging planning and development issues, with design being at the forefront of pre-application discussions to date. Through a Planning Performance Agreement, Iceni are leading on and extensive programme of meetings with Senior Officers, design workshops and presentations to the Council’s Design Review Panel.
The wider area has seen a significant increase in development activity in recent years, particularly through taller buildings, and the delivery of 115 new homes on the site represents the opportunity to positively build upon the ongoing regeneration of this important corner of Camden.
Elephant Park
Southwark
Iceni Engagement have supported Lendlease through multiple Reserved Matters Applications on Elephant Park, the challenging redevelopment of the Heygate Estate in Elephant & Castle.
Ciron Edwards, Engagement Director, has coordinated all public consultation and community stakeholder engagement on the project for the past eight years. Extensive and consistent community and political engagement has helped the project move through the highly controversial masterplanning phase on the project that underwent high levels of public, political and media scrutiny, and onto a more productive phase where the last three Reserved Matters Applications have been granted planning approval under delegated powers.
Overall the project includes over 3,000 new homes, the largest new park in central London for 70 years, 31,750 sqm of business, retail, community and leisure space, and a new, council managed, leisure centre.
Iceni Engagement are pleased to be continuing to support Lendlease through the remaining phase of the project that is due to complete in 2025.
The Mall
LB Ealing
Iceni secured planning permission for a co-living development for Urbane London on a brownfield backland site.
Iceni Projects advised Urbane London, who seek to disrupt the traditional deveopment and construction cycle through providing digitally crafted and 100% off site manufactured homes.
The particular scheme at comprises 38 co-living units which vary in size from 13sqm to 28sqm, each with their own double bed, kitchenette, bathroom and storage.
Iceni worked closely with both the client and LB Ealing to deliver a high-quality scheme which pushed the boundaries of the traditional housing product and space standards, whilst delivering much needed residential units at an affordable rent level.
Added Value: VuCity
In order to understand the townscape performance of development proposals and their potential effects on the sensitive environments, we recommend testing important townscape views using 3D London model Vu.City, available under Iceni’s software license.
Vu.City allows development proposals to be understood within their context through a virtual ‘walk around’. This approach allows the townscape implications of a scheme to be understood at the earliest opportunity and design modifications to be tested quickly.
We can accurately place architects’ models into Vu City and provide a high level townscape and heritage commentary for the benefit of the client team. To be able to undertake tests, we will require the Architects to provide us with their 3D model exported as an FBX file. Detailed guidelines on the requirement are provided on the Vu.City website: https://vu.city/knowledge-base/importing-a-model/. Importantly, files need to be geo-located. If the architect has any difficulty geo-locating or needs to provide geo-location details separately, we can work with Vu.City themselves to place it.
The public sector is increasingly adopting Vu.City, including London Councils, such as Lambeth, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Westminster, and national bodies such as Historic England. The GLA confirmed recently that the Mayor is intending to provide a ‘publicly available’ 3D model of London by the end of the year, while the new London Plan places new emphasis on 3D virtual reality and other interactive digital models to inform plan-making and decision-taking, and to engage Londoners in the planning process.
Kieron Hodgson Director | Planning
DD: 020 3640 8508
M: 07807 264 704
E: khodgson@iceniprojects.com
Kieron considers all the angles and has a collaborative approach much valued by clients
Kieron heads up the Central London Planning Team and has nearly 20 years planning experience working across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Kieron has advised on some of the most complex and high profile planning projects in London and the South East, and the Central London Team are currently advising on major new residential, office, hotel, leisure and mixed use developments for a diverse range of landowner, occupier, fund, finance, investor and developer clients with business interests in London, across Europe and increasingly within the UAE, Kuwait, India, China and Singapore, providing Kieron with global access, perspective and insight.
Kieron’s confident, proactive approach and broad sector experience enable him to consider all the angles on a project to quickly identify opportunities and mitigate planning risk, before applying his through knowledge of planning law, policy and the operation of politics in decision making, to develop innovative and bespoke strategies to secure permission.
Kieron is a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute, (RTPI) is a regular speaker at professional events and leads ICENI’s engagement with the GLA, London First and the Westminster and City Property Associations. Kieron is an expert witness and has given evidence at Public Inquiry, at Examination, at the London County Court and in the Lands Tribunal.
Nick Grant Director | Planning
T: 020 3640 8508
M: 07772 099 960
E: ngrant@iceniprojects.com
Nick has a extensive experience on delivering high profile and complex residential and commercial developments across London.
Nick is a Charted Town Planner with over 10 years experience working on a wide range of property developments across London and the south east. He joined Iceni in April 2017 having worked previously at Savills/Hepher Dixon and CBRE where he established himself as a valued advisor to his clients.
Throughout his career Nick has worked on projects across all corners of London, with extensive experience in Westminster, the City of London, Camden, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets. He also has experience on a number of large scale regeneration projects across the south east, including sites in Epping Forest, Cambridge and Brighton.
Nick identifies and advises clients on site opportunities from the outset of the development process, manages the planning process, negotiates with local authorities, coordinates planning applications and takes them through the planning process to determination. Nick also advises on appeals, the preparation of supporting planning reports, Section 106 and CIL negotiations and current planning policy issues.
The Sustainable Development Scorecard
The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) has running throughout it the ‘golden thread of sustainable development’. In spite of this, there is no clear-cut, NPPF-based assessment criteria to consider a site or project’s sustainable development credentials, making current assessment processes both tricky and subjective.
The Sustainable Development Commission was established to address this recognised issue with our planning system. Made up of a balanced cross-section of industry professionals, the Commission has debated the issues and found solutions, culminating in the creation of the Sustainable Development Scorecard.
The Scorecard website is free to use and accessible to anyone with a vested interest in development, including developers, architects, planners, community groups and members of the public. By crystallising the NPPF’s guidance into a simple, online analysis tool, the Commission aims to provide a more consistent approach to sustainable development, leading to a more sustainable built environment.
Birmingham: The Colmore Building, 20 Colmore Circus Queensway, Birmingham B4 6AT
Edinburgh: 7 Alva Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4PH
Glasgow: 201 West George Street, Glasgow, G2 2LW
London: Da Vinci House, 44 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH
Manchester: WeWork, Dalton Place, 29 John Dalton Street, Manchester, M2 6FW
www.iceniprojects.com