A two storey roof extension will be added to the original elegant Edwardian office block
An application to change the consented plans
Planning permission for 105-121 Judd Street was granted in May 2023 for roof extensions (2 extra storeys) with external plant and other alterations to ‘continue the existing commercial use of the building’, with a lab-enabled use being envisaged, to fit with Camden’s “Knowledge Quarter” aspirations. It was however a speculative scheme, with no specific tenant in mind. During the pre-app consultation period, residents were assured that the building would be focused on data-driven rather than bio-chemical research.
Ashby Capital - the investment company working in partnership with Native Land (who are managing the development) probably always intended otherwise. The building, now branded as KOVA KX, is described on their website [https://ashbycapital.com/activities/kova-kx] as having a 60:40 split of laboratory to office space. “Replete with three brand-new terraces, the five-storey Edwardian facade masks the internal innovation, centred to appeal to tenants in the life sciences sector. Containment Level 2 enabled, the building provides premium lab-ready space along with all of our other top-class signature amenities.”
Well, actually, it doesn’t have this facility yet, as the changes to the original application require planning permission from Camden Council.
This is because they now have a prospective tenant, for whom they need to tailor the design. This is a charity (for tax purposes) called LifeArc who receive handsome royalties for their early development of a drug called Keytruda that is Merck Pharmaceutical’s top product. To make the building fit for their specific purposes requires the Section 73 application.
However, what is described as “minor material changes” includes a massive increase of plant on the roof to remove the toxic waste from two floors of laboratories which will be used to develop humanised antibodies and small chemical products requiring fume cupboards and flues. This means that 5 large flumes i.e. chimneys, will be extending 3 metres above roof level.
Impact on residential amenity​
Proposals for the 7th floor roofscape viewed towards Thanet Street (left) and towards Alexander Mansions (right)
This is a densely populated residential neighbourhood, and what comes out of those chimneys now - and in the future - will impact on all those who live in the immediate area. The wind’s (changeable) direction will have an effect too.
Neil McDonald is Camden’s Team Manager responsible for planning applications in the Bloomsbury Area. In his view, “Central London and the borough of Camden already accommodate many secure laboratories in hospitals and university buildings of Containment Level 2….and they have proven to be very safe.”
Note they are in "hospitals" and "university buildings" NOT immediately next door or opposite residential dwellings.
We are assured by the LifeArc scientists that everything will be fine. An ‘Odour report’ has been submitted as part of the planning application which says odours will be negligible. But how accurate is the report? And how do we know what biochemical experiments will be carried out in the future? What mechanism will be put in place to ensure the health and safety of all those who live nearby - for ever?
A toxic smell next door?
Toxic gaseous waste can be downright unpleasant; at worst it can be dangerous and damage health. LifeArc's biochemical research would involve the release of gaseous waste from sixteen (16) level II containment cabinets situated across two floors within the building where experiments will be carried out. Law prohibits the release of toxic gases but the remedies for breach can be weak and protracted. All too often – after the damage is done!
Other than the proximity to public transport and "conducive for collaboration", there is no real justification for this kind of laboratory in a dense residential area in WC1. [LifeArc has scientific research facilities in the BioQuarter campus in Edinburgh and the Catalyst Bio Science campus in Stevenage].
But if any part of this Section 73 application does get approval, then we want protection in the form that conditions are clearly set out to prevent the intentional or unintentional release of unpleasant and dangerous gases into our local atmosphere. With changing weather patterns, this is a serious matter. Hot summer days can bring still and lingering air. We are therefore seeking expert professional assistance to define a process that really does protect residents by setting the rules and monitoring day-to-day compliance. Right now, we are in the process of selecting an expert professional consultant
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Impact on heritage and health
Grade 11 listed buildings immediately next door to the new biochemical laboratory research facility - 103 Judd Street (left) and the Thanet Street terrace (right)
105-121 Judd Street lies within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area. There can be no question that the townscape and historic value of Bloomsbury as an example of urban planning is of outstanding national, if not international value and repute.
The original (approved) design of the former RNIB has already altered the roofscape of the Edwardian building. The charming turret will be submerged into the facade of the additional floors. We are told that the proposed chimneys which will extend 3 metres above the roof will have minimal visual impact from the street. But they will certainly be visible from residents’ windows of the adjacent mansion blocks. A laboratory flue is not one that fits with the chimneys adorning the roofs of Thanet and Judd Street listed terraces. Nor one that Santa Clause would climb down with his Christmas gifts!
Creating a Level 2 containment laboratory at 105 Judd Street will basically change forever the character of this part of the Conservation Area.
Historic England wrote in response to the original planning application: "The historic scale of 105-121 Judd Street as built in the 1900s and 1920s responded sensitively to that of the Georgian townscape which characterises the Bloomsbury Conservation Area....By substantially increasing the size of historic buildings set within the Bloomsbury Conservation Area in order to accommodate demand for development could bring a lot of incremental change to its character and appearance such that it would risk cumulative harm to its significance."
With the 2023 approval of two additional floors, the ‘incremental change’ has already begun.
And now there is "an additional 7th storey for roof plant" - complete with five three metre chimneys.
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How can this huge change to the roofscape of 105 Judd Street be justified in terms of Camden's own policy DP25, which states that "In order to maintain the character of Camden’s conservation areas, the Council will (g) not permit development that it considers would cause harm to the setting of a listed building? These listed buildings lie immediately next door.
If this Section 73 application gets approval, we fear it is likely to create a precedent for more large-scale Life Science laboratories in Bloomsbury, simply because of the ever-expanding "Knowledge Quarter" and in Camden’s view, “labs are safe”.
The statutory consultation period ends on 25 May. There will need to be significant objections lodged for the application to be considered by the Planning Committee.
If you are concerned about this proposal’s impact on residential amenity and heritage, do please object or comment. The application number is 2025/1684/P.