A private hospital is asking Westminster council to free it from a planning condition that requires its new theatre wing to achieve Breeam “Excellent” – after dropping the original architect.

The Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth, in St John’s Wood, won consent for an AWW-designed scheme in 2013 on the condition that the new facilities met the Breeam “Excellent” rating, which would have put it in the top 10% of non-domestic buildings for sustainability credentials.

But AWW was subsequently replaced by contractor J Coffey for the detailed design-and-build stages and the client is now struggling to meet its original commitment for the six-theatre block, which would be three storeys tall and replace temporary buildings at the north-east of the site.

…