Veterans’ views from Union Jack Club to be blocked by high-rise tower
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Veterans are to have their sweeping views of south London blocked by a 20-storey building, under plans proposed by a millionaire New Labour donor.
Waterloo Central, a new high-rise tower next to London Waterloo rail station, would be situated just 15 metres away from the Union Jack Club (UJC), which provides hospitality and accommodation for serving and former rank-and-file members of the Armed Forces.
The new development is the brainchild of Robert Bourne, 73, who financially backed Sir Tony Blair and previously threw a birthday party for Lord Mandelson, the veteran Labour politician.
The tower is on the brink of becoming a reality, with the Labour-run Lambeth Council expected to approve the planning application within days after the Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and the Michael Gove, the secretary of state, refused to block it.
Hundreds of military families have complained that it would blight the landscape for UJC, a charity founded in 1904 to provide those below commissioned rank with a retreat in the capital. It is claimed that the building would block sunlight for 60 of the 261 rooms at the club and ruin some of its views beyond the capital.
‘Our people have been to the darkest places and deserve light’
Garrison Sergeant Major Vern Stokes, who helped organise the King’s Coronation, said that the war heroes who visited the club “do not deserve to exist in the shadows”.
“Service-separated families visit for a safe environment, war widow[er]s to find comfort, the wounded, sick and injured for support and the veterans for camaraderie,” he told Lambeth’s planning committee in October.
“Our people have been to the darkest places and deserve light.”
He accused the authority of taking “a step backwards” and a “retraction” from the Armed Forces Covenant it signed in November 2013, ensuring that their sacrifice of a normal family life was rewarded by society.
More than 2,500 people, mainly from among UJC’s 45,000 members, have written to the council objecting to the plans, while 28 have written in support.
The neighbouring Grade II*-listed Old Vic theatre has declined to object, despite raising an objection over a smaller nearby proposed building in 2021.
Shane Cooper, from Nottingham, who was in the Royal Army Medical Corps for 12 years, told The Telegraph: “This is totally appalling, to build such a structure next to a place where those still and retired from serving their country come to rest, relax and recover is a great insult to them and those who have gone before them.”
‘Impossible to develop in London without some impact’
Lambeth Council, which would gain £14 million in financial obligations and levies from the development, moved a resolution to grant planning permission in October.
With councillors expected to give it the green light within days, the charity is considering crowdfunding for a judicial review as its last remaining option.
At the heart of the row, UJC says, is that the building does not have a “right to light” if it is classed as a hotel, but does if it is classed as a residence.
Grandseal Ltd, the applicant, is owned by Mr Bourne and Bourne Capital, which has owned the £73 million plot of land for two decades, and is run by his 32-year-old son Benjamin.
Phil Botes, development director of Bourne Capital, told MailOnline it was “impossible to develop in an urban location without any impact, which has been mitigated by the substantial amendments made during the course of our engagement with the UJC”.
Lambeth Council said its planning committee “very carefully considered all concerns”.
A spokesman added: “The proposal for this brownfield site would create an estimated additional 1,900 new jobs by providing high-quality office floorspace, including provision for affordable workspace, which will benefit the Waterloo area and London more broadly.
“As a result of this scheme, more than £1.25 million would also go into improving parks and open spaces in the area, £500,000 towards step-free Tube station access and training opportunities for local schools and colleges.”
