Decision due on new 54-storey London tower near Liverpool Street Station - but St Paul's Cathedral 'at risk'

If approved, 99 Bishopsgate would become one of the tallest buildings in the Square Mile.

The plans have however received push-back from groups including the Government’s heritage body, which has warned of the impact on historic assets such as the Grade-I listed St Paul’s Cathedral. A spokesperson for 99 Bishopsgate said the project would deliver a new ‘landmark’ building in the City, and that the team are working to address concerns raised by stakeholders and consultees.

The application for 99 Bishopsgate was filed with the Corporation last summer on behalf of Brookfield Properties. It detailed plans to part-demolish the existing 26-storey block and replace it with a new 54-storey structure. Primarily delivering office space, the redevelopment would also include a series of public realm improvements, new pedestrian routes, a ground-floor market hall and a standalone six-storey cultural building. This would provide facilities including a multipurpose events hall, creative studios and a ground-floor gallery.

A report compiled by Corporation officers ahead of Friday’s (January 31) Planning Applications Sub-Committee meeting recommends the application is approved. While acknowledging it does not comply with policies relating to heritage and local strategic views, officers wrote that its benefits ‘outweigh the identified conflict with the development plan and other material considerations which weigh against the grant of planning permission’.

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A total of 37 objection letters were received, plus two duplicates, as well as two in support and three neutral. Among those writing in against the submission was the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Rowan Williams, due to concerns over the impact on the nearby Grade-I listed church St Ethelburga’s.

Lord Williams, who is a patron of the St Ethelburga’s Centre, wrote the loss of natural light and building works ‘all combine to make this a wholly undesirable move’. Historic England, one of the statutory bodies consulted on the proposed tower, also flagged fears about the potential impacts on the medieval church alongside other assets it anticipates will be affected, including St Paul’s Cathedral. It writes the proposed building would ‘erode’ the clear sky backdrop above the Heron Tower by the Cathedral, impacting its significance.

“As a consequence of the scale and massing of the proposed development, it would compete with St Paul’s Cathedral and would contribute to its visual prominence becoming further diminished, resulting in clear harm to significance and the ability to appreciate it. The large, bulky form of the cluster as a whole would be brought closer to the cathedral, increasing its dominance and cumulative impact.”

The Cathedral also submitted an objection, contending that the height of the proposed tower would affect strategic views and harm its heritage significance. A representative wrote: “St Paul’s was designed as a spiritual, cultural, civic and architectural focal point of the City. Its height, massing, and form, rising above wider London, has historically encapsulated these elements of its significance. It also allows for an understanding of the building’s relationship with the topography of London, and the historic reason why such an important place of worship would have been constructed on Ludgate Hill.”

The applicant responded on the Corporation’s planning portal to some of the concerns raised, writing they recognise the harm but consider the proposal ‘would nonetheless make a positive contribution to the skyline at the boundary of the City Cluster in views from the River Thames’. They added the proposal adheres to local, regional and national policies.

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A spokesperson for 99 Bishopsgate said: “The proposals for 99 Bishopsgate will deliver a new landmark building in the City of London with significant public and cultural benefits. Our proposals include provision of new public realm including pedestrian walkways, a new City Market, and a standalone cultural building.

“As part of planning for the proposed development, we have had regular and ongoing conversations with key stakeholders, and consultees, and the St Ethelburga’s Centre. We have been actively working to address the concerns raised by St Ethelburga’s and are committed to continued dialogue with them.”

Just before Christmas the Corporation approved what will be the tallest building in the City, One Undershaft. At 74 storeys, it will be the same height as The Shard and the joint-tallest building in Western Europe.