PLANS to make Whitechapel a leader in life sciences took another step closer to becoming a reality last night, (Wednesday 12 March) as plans to redevelop the site of a disused two-storey office building were given the go-ahead.
The existing building at 100 Cavell Street will be demolished to make way for a new building ranging from 5 to 9 storeys, including a Knowledge Centre, laboratories and affordable workspaces.
Members of the Strategic Planning Committee approved the application, subject to planning conditions and obligations.
This application follows permission for a world class life sciences cluster on vacant plots next to the Royal London Hospital, granted in October 2024.
The application site is located within the Whitechapel South Site Allocation, the Whitechapel Local Employment Location (LEL) and GLA’s City Fringe Opportunity Area.
It will provide 9,475sq.m of purpose-built floorspace for life sciences. Life science is the study of living organisms, including a wide range of disciplines like biology, genetics, cell biology and neurobiology.
The floorspace will include ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ laboratory space. Wet is a more typical lab where chemicals, drugs or other material or biological matter are tested and analysed, while dry is used for data analysis and report writing. The wet labs will be of common use in the UK and governed by the Health and Safety Executive, the UK Health Security Agency, and the Environment Agency.
Plans also include affordable workspace (with a discount of up to 50 per cent for local people) to support the need for space for small and medium-sized enterprises in the research, technology and medical sector for life sciences.
A Knowledge Centre will be built on the ground floor and used for seminars, education and exhibitions related to science, technology and engineering. This will be free to use at evenings and weekends by local community groups for science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) activities.
Subject to the agreement, applicants will also fund £200,000 worth of community STEM activities and make contributions worth £300,000 towards the Council’s Education Maintenance Allowance, and £300,000 towards the Council’s University Bursary Award, specifically for Tower Hamlets students studying STEM subjects.
Posted on Thursday 13th March 2025