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In Hackney town hall last night,  in the teeth of massive and organised opposition, we helped secure planning committee approval for Britain's first art'otel, in London's trendy Shoreditch.

The 18-storey hotel will be built at the junction of Old, Rivington and Great Eastern Streets, in the South Shoreditch Conservation Area.

The application was controversial because of what's on the site at the moment - a very trendy bar "The Foundry".  As the Evening Standard put it:

"Anyone who has spent a night out in Hoxton will know the Foundry, the pleasingly scuzzy bar-cum-arts-space that epitomises the low-key creativity that has helped make the area a global centre of art, fashion, design and music. The graffiti in its toilets alone is worthy of Grade II* listed status."

We faced organised opposition from Facebook groups, a mass flood of letters from those frequenting the bar, a barrage of hostile media stories and even celebrities opposing the scheme.

However, we found extensive support among local people for the scheme, and we encouraged a local lobbying campaign in support, with letters, emails and stickers.  We also encouraged three local residents to champion the scheme at the committee.

One really good consequence of our work was that the project team started talking to the current tenants of the Foundry. This led to them working to help the Foundry Bar relocate, an important aspect of encouraging political support.

This was a great campaign to be involved in, and it is satisfying that 5 out of the 7 councillors agreed to support the scheme with a resolution to grant.