Historic England attacks British Land’s Canada Water plans
British Land’s £3bn-plus plans for Canada Water, SE16, have come under fire from Historic England over their likely adverse effect on London’s skyline and heritage assets.
The organisation said in a letter to Southwark Council that the cluster of tall towers proposed as part of the masterplan “would have a profound and far-reaching impact on the London skyline and would, in our view, adversely affect the setting of highly graded designated heritage assets”.
These assets include grade I listed Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral and the grade II* listed Church of St Mary Rotherhithe.
British Land’s £3bn-plus plans for Canada Water, SE16, have come under fire from Historic England over their likely adverse effect on London’s skyline and heritage assets.
The organisation said in a letter to Southwark Council that the cluster of tall towers proposed as part of the masterplan “would have a profound and far-reaching impact on the London skyline and would, in our view, adversely affect the setting of highly graded designated heritage assets”.
These assets include grade I listed Tower Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral and the grade II* listed Church of St Mary Rotherhithe.
Views of Tower Bridge
Of particular concern was the plans’ impact on views of Tower Bridge from the northern half of London Bridge and the views of St Paul’s from grade I registered Greenwich Park, which is a Protected Vista.
Historic England said it was “disappointed” that despite its concerns being raised at the pre-application stage no exploration into reducing or redistributing the height of the tall buildings was considered and that the seven proposed buildings were taller than when first reviewed.
However, the organisation did accept that tall building development in this area was largely supported by local planning policy, and that there were already a number of existing and approved tall building developments in the area.
Historic England also said that the scheme had the potential to “significantly improve” the townscape and that the plans facilitated greater integration of the grade II listed Dock offices.
Planning decision expected
In May, British Land submitted its Allies & Morrison-designed masterplan for the 53-acre Docklands site, as well as outline planning for the £700m first phase and detailed plans for the first three buildings. A planning decision was expected before the end of the year and the REIT is targeting starting on site next spring.
A British Land spokesperson said: “The proposal for tall buildings will meet planning policy objectives for the site to deliver new homes, shops and jobs within Canada Water, borne out of its status as an Opportunity Area, Major Town Centre and Housing Zone.”
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