Unanimous approval for UCL East detailed plans

• Reserved Matters applications for UCL East approved by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Planning Decisions Committee
• Construction of Phase 1 to start on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in summer 2019
• UCL’s new campus will be embedded in the community, but also be home to world-leading research, education, entrepreneurship and innovation
• UCL East campus features high-profile schemes by Stanton Williams, Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands and VOGT

 UCL’s Reserved Matters applications for the new UCL East campus have been approved following a unanimous resolution from the LLDC Planning Decisions Committee on Tuesday 26March. The three applications, submitted in September 2018, cover UCL’s detailed plans for the Phase 1 buildings and public realm, including access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale.

 The approval of these applications, subject to finalisation of planning conditions, builds on the Mayor of London’s approval of UCL’s Outline Planning Application in March 2018.

 Professor Paola Lettieri, Academic Director for UCL East, stated: “UCL’s new campus will embody our commitment to creating and sharing knowledge that will bring long-term benefit to both people and planet. We are thrilled to celebrate this key milestone, which brings us one step closer to meeting this vision.”

 Kevin Argent, Deputy Director of UCL Estates & Director of Estates Development, commented: “This marks a significant moment for UCL, and the culmination of years of hard work from our team and our partners. With detailed planning permission unanimously agreed, we are in a great position to move forward with Phase 1 of our new campus in east London as planned.”

 UCL East will be part of East Bank, the capital’s new powerhouse of culture, education, innovation and growth which includes some of London’s greatest cultural and creative institutions.

 As this new development takes shape, it will cement London's reputation as the best place in the world to study, work and visit.

The new UCL East campus will be located to the south of the London Aquatics Centre and the ArcelorMittal Orbit. It will ultimately provide around 180,000 square metres of new floor space (equivalent to 25 Wembley football pitches), adding approximately 40% to UCL's central London site in Bloomsbury.

 The new campus will be delivered in phases as part of the overarching masterplan. Construction of Phase 1 will start in summer 2019, and will consist of over 50,000 square metres of development across two buildings. They will be home to around an extra 4,000 students and around an extra 260 academic staff.

 Through the Phase 1 buildings, UCL East will deliver innovative research and teaching from eight UCL faculties, many focusing on solving some of the greatest challenges facing humanity today.

 Activities will range from understanding the challenges of future urban living, how to effectively power electric vehicles and how to improve the lives of disabled people worldwide, through to robotics, artificial intelligence, future media and applied finance.

 In Phase 1 alone, there will be around 50 new or nearly new programmes for undergraduates, postgraduates and pre-degree level students.

 Marshgate I:

• The academic research, innovation and teaching facility has been designed by a Stanton Williams-led team
• It represents the centre of the academic vision for UCL East, uniting Experiments, Arts, Society, and Technology (EAST) across research, innovation and taught programmes
• It will provide over 34,000sqm of much-needed academic space as well as café and retail uses
• The lower levels of the building are characterised as a network of public spaces and activities, which are open to the public

 Pool Street West:

• The mixed-use building has been designed by a Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands-led team
• The three-storey academic podium will house the Future Living Institute: a multi-disciplinary home for research, innovation, teaching, and engagement from at least five faculties
• Rising above the landscaped roof terrace, two towers will provide around 500 bed spaces for student accommodation
• The central atrium of the building is designed to be open to members of the public

 Public realm:

• The public realm design has been led by VOGT Landscape
• The landscape surrounding Marshgate I and Pool Street West focuses on creating a distinctive environment which expresses UCL East’s identity but is also rooted in the geology, history and culture of this unique part of east London
• The campus will have an animated public realm that engages with the activities of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding community, providing accessible and distinct public spaces and providing opportunities for socialising, study, relaxation and events

 UCL East is part of Transforming UCL, a £1.25 billion ten-year programme of investment in UCL’s estate across London to support the university’s continuing growth. The programme is also seeing the creation of new facilities in UCL’s Bloomsbury campus, including construction of a world-class neurological research centre in King’s Cross.