Meeting community aspirations in redevelopment of dense urban site

In preparation for planning application, our planning consultants performed extensive stakeholder and community consultations to ensure the demolition and redevelopment of the Matrix site met the aspirations of local community and businesses.

This new 13 storey, 275 room hotel will be built to replace a 1970s office building known as 'The Matrix'. The site, on Aldgate in London, is flanked by a tube station on one side and the 18th Century St Botolph-without-Aldgate Church on the other.

We were instructed by Dorsett Hospitality International to prepare and submit a planning application for the demolition of the office building and its redevelopment to provide a new hotel.

Consent was granted in what is thought to be the final office to hotel conversion that the City of London Corporation will approve which allows the six storey Matrix to be demolished to make way for a new four star hotel.

Given the architectural sensitivities of this historic and typically dense area of London we consulted extensively with local stakeholders and, in particular, with the neighbouring St. Botolph's Church. This was critical to ensure that the redevelopment met the aspirations of local community and businesses. We also worked closely with the City of London to ensure that the new hotel contributed to the Aldgate public realm improvement strategy.

The architecturally sensitive and technically complex scheme will bring huge benefits to the area. It intensifies the use of the site, provides additional public space and greatly improves the aesthetic backdrop to the church.