Approval of skyscraper as tall as The Shard delayed in the City

Proposals for a skyscraper matching the height of The Shard are set to be approved after “minor adjustments” are made to the plans.

Planning officers recommended approval for the 309.6m (1,016ft) tall building, 1 Undershaft, due to sit next to the Leadenhall Building in central London.

Historic England had objected to the plans, saying the development would “seriously degrade the scale and character of the public realm around it”.

On Tuesday, City of London’s planning committee agreed to defer a decision to a later date so that the proposals could be adjusted. If approved, the Greater London Authority (GLA) said the London mayor would also have to consider the plans.

The application would also have to be signed off by the next Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary.

Under the plans, the 74-floor skyscraper would replace a 28-storey vacant tower and the site would include office and retail space, plus a viewing gallery and garden.

It would be the tallest building in the City of London’s skyline if approved.

Historic England said the proposed scheme would “cause harm to the historic environment” of the City and three Grade I-listed buildings and a conservation area within it, as well to the Tower of London World Heritage Site, and to St James’s Park.

“The harm caused would be consequential, multi-faceted, widespread, and to assets of the highest significance,” it said.

The Twentieth Century Society, a charity that campaigns for the preservation of architectural heritage, also objected to the plans.

It said the building currently in place on the site, Aviva Tower, was “a rare survivor of the 1960s City of London fabric” and a design of “historical significance”.

The plans are an amended version of an application for a 72-storey tower that was approved for the site in November 2019.

It was revised to “better respond to post pandemic needs, revised market demands and the changing context and aspirations of the City of London”, the planning officers’ report stated.

On Tuesday it was agreed they would be revised again with “minor adjustments” to reflect the concerns of the planning committee.

GLA said the plan did not fully comply with the London Plan, with more information needed regarding the site’s energy strategy, sustainable development and impact on traffic.

It added that if approved by the City of London, then Mayor of London Sadiq Khan would weigh up the public benefits of the scheme against the impact on heritage assets in his “decision-making stage”.