City Hall’s intervention draws a line under one of Westminster’s most fiercely contested student housing disputes and finally clears the way for construction to start.

The £147m scheme on a Travis Perkins builders’ merchant site had been repeatedly blocked by councillors who claimed the twin-tower block would cause unacceptable light loss and harm nearby conservation areas.

Labour and Tory members united to brand the plans “excessive”, warning the 20-storey massing would create a canyon effect across Paddington Basin.

But deputy mayor Jules Pipe ruled the now extensively redesigned project met the London Plan “when read as a whole”, arguing the student beds, canal-side upgrades and economic benefits outweigh the acknowledged design impacts.

City Hall also highlighted London’s surging demand for student housing, with at least 3,500 new beds needed every year to avoid piling more pressure on mainstream homes.

The green light allows Unite to demolish the current depot at 149–157 Harrow Road and deliver two linked towers containing 605 rooms above a reprovided Travis Perkins operation at ground and mezzanine level.

The scheme also brings a new public path along the Grand Union Canal, mooring improvements, canal-side landscaping, a walkway beneath Bishops Bridge Road and a retained historic gable end.