Historic England objects to tourist tower, dubbing it a 鈥榲ertical cliff edge鈥� for the City
Government heritage adviser Historic England has formally objected to Foster + Partners鈥� Tulip tower proposals for a 305m-high visitor attraction just metres from the practice鈥檚 Gherkin building.
The organisation鈥檚 principal inspector of historic buildings, Michael Dunn, said the proposals would create a 鈥渧ertical cliff edge鈥� between the City of London鈥檚 eastern tall buildings cluster and the Tower of London, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
鈥淚n our view, this sharp contrast, combined with the unusual eye-catching form of the proposed building, reduces the visual dominance of the Tower of London and harms an attribute of its outstanding universal value, namely the tower鈥檚 role as a symbol of royal power set apart from the City of London and dominating its strategic riverside setting,鈥� Dunn said.
鈥淲e have not seen clear and convincing evidence that this harm would be outweighed by public benefits, and we therefore cannot support the proposals.鈥�
Dunn鈥檚 letter said Historic England had been involved with providing advice on the project 鈥渇or several months鈥� in relation to a pre-application design 鈥渟imilar to the submitted proposals鈥�. Fosters鈥� design and access statement for the Tulip suggests it held four consultation meetings with Historic England between August and October.
While Historic England鈥檚 objection to the Tulip will not be seen as a positive development by Foster and its client Jacob J Safra, the billionaire banker, it will be up to City of London planners to present a weighted balance of the degree of harm against the scheme鈥檚 benefits.
The National Planning Policy Framework requires decision makers to determine whether harm caused to heritage assets is 鈥渟ubstantial鈥� or 鈥渓ess than substantial鈥� in determining applications.
Historic England鈥檚 Dunn said the 鈥済radual intensification and densification鈥� of the City鈥檚 eastern cluster of tall buildings had changed the visual relationship between the City and the Tower of London world heritage site in some views.
He said the view of the Tower of London from Tower Bridge鈥檚 north bastion would 鈥渇urther change this relationship, creating a 鈥榲ertical cliff edge鈥� to the eastern cluster, 鈥渨hile the unusual form of the building, intended to be eye-catching, draws attention away from the tower鈥�.
Dunn said it was Historic England鈥檚 opinion that the Tulip would 鈥渃hange the relationship between City and tower to such an extent that the eastern cluster begins to visually challenge the dominance and strategic position of the Tower, thereby causing harm to its significance鈥�.
He added that there were already viewing platforms in the City of London 鈥� including Wren鈥檚 Monument 鈥� with which the Tulip would compete.
Last month, over the Tulip鈥檚 potential to interfere with radar systems used to support aircraft movements.
As the scheme currently stands, the Tulip would deliver just under 3,000sq m of new space, principally in the 12-floor structure at the top of its concrete shaft.
In addition to the main tower, the planning application also includes a new entrance pavilion with public roof terrace and a dedicated education centre for the capital鈥檚 state school children.
Construction could start in 2020 and be completed in 2025, said Safra. The City of London has indicated that it plans to determine the application by March next year.
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