City demands design changes to Eric Parry tower as decision deferred

The City of London’s planning committee today (2 July) chose to defer the AJ100 practice’s proposals for a 74-storey tower rising to 309.64m tall to address concerns over the building’s ground level arrangements. Councillors voted by nine votes to six to defer a decision on the scheme following a mammoth three-and-a-half hour-long meeting. There were two abstentions.

Eric Parry will now look at revisions on the scheme for a second time since the practice submitted fresh plans for the site in January this year for developers Stanhope and Aroland Holdings. The current scheme is already an overhaul of plans consented to in 2019.

Objectors speaking at today’s committee meeting expressed concern over the loss of public space from St Helen’s Square in front of the existing One Undershaft, as well as a possible loss of sunlight from the overhanging garden included in the scheme.

An ‘increasingly crowded market for viewing platforms’ in the City was also cited by speakers questioning the project’s public benefits. Councillors expressing concerns about the proposal also questioned whether or not ‘minor tweaks’ were enough to address fears raised at the meeting over loss of public space.

The scheme is the second proposed for the 0.72 ha site between RSHP’s Leadenhall building (224m) and Foster + Partners’ Gherkin (180m). Both will be overshadowed by Eric Parry’s tower, which will match Renzo Piano’s Shard as the UK and Western Europe’s tallest building.

Eric Parry’s submitted scheme includes an 11-storey podium structure with a cantilevered garden, topped by three stepped volumes and a public viewing platform. A dedicated space for the Museum of London is planned for the 72nd and 73rd floors.

The development aims to deliver 154,156m² of office space capable of accommodating 9,500 City workers, 1,337m² of retail and commercial area, 3,134m² of public viewing galleries, and 3,479m² of cultural uses.

Although City planning officers recommended approval of the scheme, Historic England objected to the reworked plans in February over concerns about design and form, ‘particularly as experienced from nearby streets, rather than [the] overall height’ of the plans.

The government’s heritage watchdog added in its February submission: ‘We consider that permitting this scheme would be a serious[ly] missed opportunity to achieve an exemplar building at the apex of the cluster, respecting the rich history of the City of London and maintaining or enhancing the public spaces from where most people experience it.’

Eric Parry was first given consent for a tower on the site, in 2019. Under those plans, a 73-storey cuboid tower was set to feature an external cross-bracing structure with 90,000m² of office space. However, a redesigned scheme was submitted in January.

Amended proposals submitted in February swapped weathering steel for zinc on the two highest storeys, which have been widened to give the building a more coherent and tapered appearance.

As with the 2019 scheme, an existing 23-storey office would be demolished as part of the development. This building is due to become vacant at the end of this year, allowing work to start.

Speaking to the AJ last August, Eric Parry said the rework of the One Undershaft design was prompted by changes to working habits and the ability to ‘deliver a more sustainable building with enhanced urban greening’.

A spokesperson for the project told the AJ: ‘We have listened carefully to the comments made regarding the public space at ground floor which were raised at the Planning Applications Sub-Committee today. We will be working closely with the City of London Corporation and our neighbours in the insurance industry to consider these through minor revisions to the scheme.

‘We look forward to returning to the Sub-Committee as soon as possible.’

Construction is expected to take around five years, with enabling works starting in 2024 and construction finishing in 2030, subject to planning. Completion on the earlier scheme was scheduled for the mid-2020s.

A timeline for a future decision on the scheme is currently unknown.

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