Government backs clustering skyscrapers near to Tower of London

In an executive summary submitted with UNESCO, the government wrote the concept of clustering high-rise blocks to avoid impacting the tower “is in line with the direct recommendation from the World Heritage Committee”.

It added the corporation’s draft local plan, entitled City Plan 2040, would continue to consolidate the collection of tall buildings nearest the tower and that it does not believe a buffer zone is necessary.

A corporation spokesperson said the report “makes clear the Tower of London’s importance and influence over the shaping of central London, which we encapsulate and celebrate in the City Plan 2040”.

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UNESCO, a United Nations agency which promotes education, arts, sciences and culture across the world, had requested the UK government submit a report reviewing the impacts of tall buildings on the Tower of London.

The tower is a designated World Heritage Site. Fears were raised that the report may lead to the status being reconsidered by UNESCO.

UNESCO’s request was first flagged by Historic England in its response to the draft City Plan 2040 consultation last year and later confirmed by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

In the government report's summary, which is just more than a page long, the government wrote it “takes seriously” the cumulative impact on the setting of the Tower of London.

“The City of London Corporation has proposed a new City Plan 2040 which would continue to consolidate the existing City Cluster of tall buildings in line with the World Heritage Committee’s recommendation.

“The ongoing local plan review has explored in detail how the approaches to tall buildings and the accompanying evidence base would manage the effects of such development within the tower’s setting.”

The government added its position remains that the protections under the planning system and national policy remain the best way to protect the tower, and that it does not consider a buffer zone to be necessary.

A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “One of the reasons why the City Corporation seeks to cluster tall buildings together in specific areas is to preserve key views and prized heritage features, like the Tower of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.

"This is how history and modernity combine to define what is unique about the Square Mile – a dynamic and ever-changing world city.”

The Corporation’s City Plan 2040 is in the process of being reviewed by inspectors, with a series of public hearings held earlier this year.

The final three days are planned from June 10 to June 12, with the topic of heritage and tall buildings, regularly a point of contention in the Square Mile, to take centre stage.