High Court Dismisses Challenge to Barbican Redevelopment

On 26 March 2026, the High Court dismissed a judicial review challenge to the City of London Corporation’s decision to grant its own application for planning permission for the “London Wall West” redevelopment at the Barbican, involving the demolition of Bastion House and the former Museum of London.

The Claimant challenged the Corporation’s decision on three grounds: (1) breach of “functional separation” requirements under reg. 64(2) of the 2017 EIA Regulations, because documents that should have been stored in inaccessible subfolders remained accessible to development-side officers; (2) misinterpretation of Local Plan Policy CS15, said to impose a presumption against demolition; and (3) inadequate enquiry into expressions of interest in retaining and refurbishing the existing buildings.

On Ground 1, Mr Justice Fordham found a breach of reg. 64(2) but held it was not vitiating: no officer had in fact accessed any restricted document. As he put it: “The door of inaccessibility should have been locked. But nobody opened the unlocked door.” On Ground 2, the judge rejected the argument that CS15 creates a freestanding presumption against demolition, holding that demolition avoidance is one factor within an integrated sustainability assessment. Ground 3 also failed: the Carbon Optioneering Study had adequately explored retention options.

Press coverage of the challenge can be found here.

Neil Cameron KC acted for the City of London Corporation as Local Planning Authority.

Rupert Warren KC and Joel Semakula acted for the City of London Corporation as the developer.