Construction work has officially begun on DSDHA's highly controversial 19-story tower project in Holborn, London, with demolition crews now clearing the site after a failed legal challenge last year. The project, backed by developers Simten and BC Partners, involves demolishing the 1960s Selkirk House building and an NCP car park on the 1.3-acre site, despite significant opposition from heritage groups and local activists.
The demolition work commenced in early September 2024, nearly two years after Camden Council approved the proposal in November 2023. The clearing process includes tearing down Selkirk House, which was last used as a Travelodge hotel, along with the adjacent car park and other associated structures on the site. The project had faced a major legal challenge in September of the previous year, but the court ultimately allowed the development to proceed.
The architectural firm DSDHA's original designs were approved despite facing a substantial campaign of opposition from various heritage organizations and prominent figures. Historic England, SAVE Britain's Heritage, TV presenter and Victorian Society chair Griff Rhys Jones, and architect Simon Sturgis all voiced their concerns about the project's environmental and heritage impact. The firm submitted amended designs in April 2022 that reduced the proposed building's height in response to some of the criticism.
Jim Monahan of locally based MBH Architects led the legal challenge in the High Court, arguing that Camden Council had ignored its own conservation policies due to the 74-meter-tall building's potential impact on the Bloomsbury conservation area. Monahan also criticized Camden's planning officers for failing to adequately highlight the scheme's impact on the historic neighborhood. Although the High Court agreed that council officers had failed to draw attention to the northern part of the site falling within the Bloomsbury Conservation area, the court ultimately ruled that the planning committee's decision would likely have been the same regardless.
As an alternative to demolition, Monahan's practice unveiled detailed retrofit proposals for Selkirk House last summer in a comprehensive 22-page document that garnered support from more than two dozen organizations. Their alternative plan advocated for retrofitting the entire existing building to provide new office space, residential units, a rooftop garden, and a tourist information center, arguing this approach would be more environmentally sustainable and preserve the area's heritage.
Camden Council's planning officers had recommended the workspace-focused scheme for approval, despite the opposition. In their report to the planning committee, officers noted that "the only parts of Selkirk House that could, in principle, be retained (floors 4-13) comprise just 25 percent of the overall structure by weight." They argued that retaining only this portion of the building would be both difficult and costly to implement effectively.
The council officers further stated that preserving the existing buildings would require substantial renovation work to bring them up to modern hotel standards or convert them to residential use, particularly regarding fire safety regulations. They concluded that DSDHA's proposal represented the most efficient use of the available land. Officers praised the high-quality architecture of DSDHA's design, stating it would have a positive impact on urban design through "a new open, publicly accessible, mixed-use ground plane with active ground-floor frontages, newly shaped public spaces and a new route connecting West Central Street and High Holborn."
DSDHA defended their controversial scheme by emphasizing its housing benefits, arguing that the 44 new homes represent a doubling of residential capacity on the site. The firm stated that the development would "replace existing, poor-quality homes that have been unoccupied for a number of years with a high proportion of affordable homes (77 percent of additional homes by floor space)." The architects also maintained that their design was created to be sympathetic to the Bloomsbury conservation area and "sensitively mixes old and new, restoring the historic façades and interiors of five listed buildings and returning three of them to their original form of townhouses above shops."
The complete DSDHA development project is expected to reach practical completion by 2028, marking the end of a years-long planning and legal battle that has divided the local community and heritage preservation advocates.
