One Undershaft: Approval of skyscraper as tall as The Shard delayed after concerns raised

The City of London Corporation had been recommended to approve the 74-storey One Undershaft scheme next to the Leadenhall Building by officers, though members instead voted to send it back to the applicant to enable ‘minor adjustments’ before returning to the committee.

Doubts about whether ‘minor’ changes would address key concerns were however raised by a handful of councillors. It is not known how long it will take for any revisions to be made, though a City spokesperson said it is hoped the proposal will return ‘ASAP’.

Filed by applicant Aroland Holdings Limited, the application follows on from a scheme approved in 2019 to demolish the 1960’s Aviva Tower and construct a new office-led skyscraper in its place.

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The amendments, which include increasing the height of the proposed building, were due to changing requirements since the designs were first drawn up around a decade ago, the committee was told.

As well as office space, the building would also involve a public garden podium and a floor to be utilised by the Museum of London, among other amenities.

It would be the tallest building in the City of London's skyline if approved.

Objections from consultees including Historic England, The Twentieth Century Society and Tower Hamlets Council were submitted during consultation.

Justin Black, Head of UK Development at CC Land which is the lead investor in the Leadenhall Building, told committee members the proposal is ‘flawed’, and requested the decision be pushed back due to concerns including the loss of space at St Helen’s Square and the massing of the building. “I am speaking today to remind the committee that this harm, irrecoverable if progressed, is entirely avoidable,” he said.

While there had been little in the way of formal objections to the scheme from the insurance industry, which occupies the area in which One Undershaft is situated, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday morning that the Chair of Lloyd’s of London Bruce Carnegie-Brown had written to the Corporation stating it “would rob the City of a really important convening space”.

A 1 Undershaft spokesman said: “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.”

Shravan Joshi, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee, said the decision had been deferred so developers could consider “minor adjustments in relation to the ground floor public realm”.

He added: “This is not a message to industry that we are against development, or that we do not need to densify the eastern cluster.”

‘We have listened carefully to comments regarding public space at ground floor.”

If the proposal is agreed upon coming back to the committee, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will still have the opportunity to consider it before final approval can be granted. It will also be required to be referred to the next Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary.