99 Bishopsgate: new 54-storey tower by Liverpool Street Station to change City of London skyline forever

99 Bishopsgate, which is on the corner with Wormwood Street, will deliver nearly 100,000 square metres of office space alongside a ground-floor market hall and standalone six-storey cultural building.

It will involve the part-demolition of the existing 28-storey block, built in 1976. The application, submitted on behalf of real estate company Brookfield Properties, had drawn concern from heritage bodies including Historic England over the impact on nearby assets.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Rowan Williams, was also among those to write in. Lord Williams, who is a patron of the St Ethelburga’s Centre, warned the Grade I listed church would suffer from loss of natural light and building works if the submission was green-lit, making it ‘a wholly undesirable move’.

City of London Corporation officers had recommended the application be approved, writing in a report published ahead of today’s (January 31) Planning Applications Sub-Committee meeting that the benefits outweigh the concerns raised. At today’s meeting, Dan Scanlon, President at Brookfield Properties, told members the redevelopment would be ‘transformational’ for the City.

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As well as the cultural building and market hall, he said the scheme would deliver more than £40 million in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments and Section 106 funding to the Corporation. Mr Scanlon also referenced the objections filed by Historic England, St Paul’s Cathedral and St Ethelburga’s, telling the sub-committee the team were ‘disappointed’. He said they had engaged with St Ethelburga’s, and that a proposed new pocket park would deliver a ‘lasting benefit’.

Deputy Shravan Joshi, the committee’s Chair, asked officers specifically about the harm to St Paul’s. Referencing images shown of the view from Waterloo Bridge, he said. “I’m not understanding the strength of language of the objectors again. I can’t fathom in pictures where that backdrop is impacted.”

He was told that officers agreed with the various heritage bodies there would be harm as a result of the scheme, though that this was deemed to be acceptable. The officer added the harm to St Paul’s would be visual rather than physical, with the proposed tower located a kilometre away from the cathedral.

Deputy Marianne Fredericks asked questions both to the applicant and officers about the ways in which the impacts on the cathedral were mitigated, and if more could have been done. In their response, officers pointed to the ‘raking profile’ of the proposal, in which it appears as if part of it has been shaved off to prevent it jutting out of the cluster of nearby towers.

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This, Deputy Fredericks was told, meant a lot of office floorspace was lost, and so reflected a balancing act being struck between lessening harm and providing as much space as possible. Deputy Fredericks also raised a concern about the process followed regarding parties requesting they speak. She said the Surveyor to the Fabric of St Paul’s Cathedral had emailed saying they had attempted to sign up to speak on the Monday prior to the meeting, so four days before.

They were however told they had to submit their request five days ahead of time, and so were denied. There were no objecting speakers at today’s meeting. Deputy Fredericks asked for more flexibility when it comes to allowing people to speak at planning meetings, adding it was a ‘shame’ the cathedral was not able to do so.

Questions were also asked of the mix of pedestrians and cyclists around the site, given a public cycle hub building is included in the plans. Deputy Joshi requested measures managing cyclist behaviour and clear signage indicating where they must dismount. After a short debate, members voted to approve the plans, with 17 in favour, none against and two abstentions.

Following the meeting, Deputy Joshi said: “A much-needed office development has been approved in the City of London and it speaks to the confidence that global investors have in the local real estate market, as well as the UK economy, more widely.

“The 99 Bishopsgate scheme will also give the Square Mile one of the largest public realm upgrades from a single planning application, in recent history, increasing the ‘walkability’ of the City, so that it becomes a safer and more pleasant place to travel through.”

Mr Scanlon said: “We are delighted with today’s decision from the City of London to approve our plans for 99 Bishopsgate, affirming our continued commitment to invest and develop in the City. Our proposals for 99 Bishopsgate will be transformational, delivering a scheme of exceptional design quality which aptly combines best-in-class office space with newly created pedestrian routes and significant public and cultural amenity.”