Tall buildings should be put to mandatory public vote, urges think tank

Tall residential buildings should be banned from conservation areas and should all be put to a mandatory public vote. Those are the recommendations in a new report from Policy Exchange – Tall Buildings: A Policy Framework for Responsible High-Rise and Better Density – which claims that building tall is not the solution to the UK’s housing crisis. Actor Griff Rhys Jones, president of the Victorian Society and staunch opponent of the redevelopment of Liverpool Street station, claims in his foreword to the report that the development of towers has been led by investors going “upwards in search of profit”. “It’s driven by greed,” he writes. “Greed for on-paper, square-metre returns. “London is particularly plagued by silly aggrandisement,” adds Rhys Jones. “Many of the latest high-rise follies have all the tacky appeal of a footballer’s kitchen. The City of London is a shiny, crooked wall. It is difficult to distinguish where one unimaginative, glass-clad slab ends and another begins… the modern intelligent response to density is ‘mid-rise’, not ticky-tacky, semi-detached sprawl or giant accommodation structures… “There is simply no inherent logic in reaching for the sky. This paper explains why. We need to reset and understand the future. Research like this will help us do that. I salute it.” The report found that while the 68 residential skyscrapers (towers of 111m or more) added to the London skyline since 2000 had provided more than 22,000 new homes, only 6% of these were classed as affordable housing, and just 0.3% as social housing. As a result, the think tank is calling for a new national tall buildings policy to prioritise “responsible, beautiful development and mid-rise housing”. It wants government to legislate that all local authorities in England and Wales that want to consider planning applications for multi-storey buildings of 60m or taller have the policy in place; that tall buildings are banned from conservation areas and that a “buffer zone” be created around those areas; that all tall buildings are put to a public vote as a mandatory part of the consultation process; and that permission in principle should be granted to mid-rise alternatives. The proposals have been largely dismissed by the residential investment and development community. Brendan Geraghty, chief executive at the Association for Rental Living, said tall buildings were part of the solution to providing much-needed homes in the UK. “They are not suited to every location, but they are a legitimate source of homes in many urban areas and are a popular choice for those seeking an urban lifestyle,” he said. “Tall buildings are not unplanned and go through a very rigorous due diligence through the planning process to establish their viability on social, economic and environmental criteria.” Tom Donnachie, managing director of UK investment at Amro Partners, agreed. “We need to build more homes through both increased densification and sustainable outward development,” he said. “Housing should adequately provide for renters or buyers on low and medium incomes, and a plan needs to be put in place to maintain a stable and consistent level of housing delivery.  “In an urban context, it can be appropriate for tall buildings to be developed, but in doing so they must be sensitive to their surroundings and deliver substantial public benefits. Where deemed appropriate, tall buildings can unlock a significant number of affordable homes, as increased densification and affordable housing typically come hand in hand, with financial viability being a key driver for maximising the latter.” Policy Exchange argues that tall buildings can be controversial and that the UK’s national housing shortage could be more effectively addressed by actively encouraging a new strategic focus on mid-rise housing. It said: “This form of development is less divisive, cheaper and better at fostering communities – and has been consistently proven, both in Britain and abroad, to achieve greater densities and deliver more affordable housing than high-rise alternatives.” The Association of Rental Living’s Geraghty added: “We need appropriately designed and located tall buildings, along with all other forms of housing, if we are to meet the challenge of the housing crisis. We must demand quality from our tall buildings, but they must not be excluded from being an important part of our housing typologies.” Policy Exchange believes its recommendations will promote more responsible high-rise development, increase densification, balance the needs of commerce and conservation and “help prevent the proliferation of architectural eyesores across our built historic and residential environments”.