Unite Students’ long-delayed Baltic Wharf scheme in Paddington has finally secured planning consent after intervention from the Mayor of London. City Hall has overturned Westminster City Council’s repeated refusals, ending one of the borough’s most hard-fought student housing rows and opening the door for construction to begin on the £147m project.
The development, on the existing Travis Perkins builders’ merchant site at 149–157 Harrow Road, will deliver two linked towers providing 605 student bedrooms. The plans include reprovision of the Travis Perkins operation at ground and mezzanine level, maintaining trade supply functions on the canal-side site.
Westminster councillors from both Labour and Conservative groups had twice rejected the proposals, arguing the 20-storey massing was excessive and would create a canyon effect across Paddington Basin. They also cited concerns over daylight and sunlight loss and potential harm to nearby conservation areas.
Deputy Mayor for Planning Jules Pipe concluded that the now extensively redesigned scheme complies with the London Plan “when read as a whole”. His decision states that the delivery of new student beds, public realm upgrades and wider economic benefits outweigh the acknowledged design impacts on the local townscape.
City Hall’s report underlined the acute pressure on London’s student housing stock, warning that at least 3,500 new beds are needed each year to avoid further strain on general housing supply. The Baltic Wharf project is positioned as part of that response, adding high-density accommodation in a well-connected central location.
Alongside the student towers, the scheme will introduce a new public route along the Grand Union Canal, with improved moorings and enhanced canal-side landscaping. Plans also feature a new walkway beneath Bishops Bridge Road and retention of a historic gable end, aiming to knit the development into the existing urban and heritage context around Paddington Basin.
