Planning

To prove our commitment to quality and gain the confidence of Planning Officers, our Architecture team worked with Tide and Vision to build three one-to-one bay mock-ups demonstrating the quality of the homes that would be delivered. This active testing formed part of the condition of the discharge process. Regular meetings with officers continued throughout the rapid construction programme ensuring that the original vision our team had shared for the building was achieved

A key aspect of the planning dialogue was balancing what was technically possible against their impact on townscape and microclimate. Particularly important was the height difference of the two towers and the consequences this had for wind loading, with differences of greater than six to eight storeys creating a structure that would have become unviable. Working through a range of views, wind tunnel testing and daylight assessments in parallel with the structural calculations allowed a structural solution to be finalised as part of the planning process and, as a result, the two intersecting towers are joined structurally.

Recent construction in Croydon means the town has regained its earlier ambition, but Ten Degrees is considerably taller than most of its neighbours. Our Planning team balanced what was technically possible against the potential impact on townscape and microclimate. Much of the dialogue with planners focused on how we could set a precedent for other tall buildings in the pipeline, and gain consent to build on other sites that had been subject to unsuccessful planning applications?