The City of London Corporation’s Planning Applications Sub-Committee has approved plans to redevelop 1 Silk Street, backing a mixed-use, office-led project next to the Barbican that includes public realm changes and new pedestrian routes.

Under the decision, the existing 1980s office building will be replaced by a part 16 and part 20-storey scheme.

The plans provide about 86,000m^² of Grade A office space, along with new cultural, retail and community areas.

Changes to the surrounding public spaces form a central part of the proposals. These include a new public plaza opposite the Barbican Centre entrance and improved pedestrian connections through the site.

The plans also include routes intended to improve links between Moorgate and Liverpool Street and the Barbican.

The city corporation said the decision followed consultation and design revisions. It said the project’s design, scale and impacts were altered in response to feedback from local residents, statutory consultees and others in the wider community.

The corporation described the redevelopment as part of its Destination City growth strategy, which it said aims to maintain the Square Mile’s appeal to business while creating a more “vibrant, inclusive and welcoming” place.

It also linked the scheme to demand for what it called “next-generation office space” in a “highly connected location”.

The plans are also presented as aligning with the emerging priorities of the City Plan 2040, including sustainable growth, inclusive public spaces and urban design, as well as improved access to the Barbican through new free-to-access routes and places.

Sustainability measures in the approved design include retaining a substantial proportion of the existing structure to reduce embodied carbon, alongside environmental performance targets, urban greening and biodiversity improvements.

The corporation said these elements support its net-zero and climate resilience ambitions set out in its fully funded Climate Action Strategy.

City of London Corporation Planning and Transportation Committee chairman Tom Sleigh said: “The scheme that was approved by the committee was a stronger one than the early proposals, shaped by a long period of pre-application work and consultation with residents and statutory consultees.

“The daylight impact on Barbican homes and the way the building meets the street were both reworked along the way. What it now delivers is a much-needed, high-quality workspace, with the retention of much of the existing structure rather than demolition.

“Crucially, it will also transform the public realm around the Barbican, with a new public route and plaza, open to all, creating a more welcoming, inclusive environment, with new cultural and community spaces that increase the City’s vibrancy across the week.”