LONDON (CelebrityAccess) — Michael Gove, the UK’s Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has paused the development of the MSG Sphere, an innovative live concert venue that’s in the planning stages for East London.
According to Architects Journal, the temporary halt, the result of an Article 31 holding directive, temporarily prevents the London Legacy Development Corporation and the mayor of London from approving plans for the 21,500-capacity venue.
As a result, Gove will then make a ruling if the plans for the proposed arena development, which is backed my Madison Square Garden, and architecture firm Populous, should be further scrutinized.
Rival arena operators AEG had previously criticized the project, including planned external LED screens, which they described as ‘wholly unprecedented in scale’ in January.
“Since these proposals first emerged back in 2017, AEG has consistently raised its objections to the unacceptable impact that this proposal will have on the operation of The O2 and the hundreds of residents who will be even more directly affected,” Alistair Wood, AEG executive vice president for real estate and development in Europe told Architects Journal.
In a statement provided to Architect’s Journal, a spokesperson for MSG said: ‘MSG is pleased with the progress our planning application is making. We always expected the government to take the opportunity to review our application for MSG Sphere London and their formal notice has absolutely no impact on our plans in any way.’
