Campaigners have opposed WELPUT’s plans for a new 49-storey skyscraper near the Gherkin in London, EC3, citing that it could “damage” views of the nearby Tower of London.
The proposal, submitted last month, would involve demolishing WELPUT’s seven-storey, 43,500 sq ft Bury House office block in favour of the new tower.
WELPUT said in its application to the City of London Corporation that the majority of the tower’s floorspace, around 274,000 sq ft, would be for class E offices. The site, at 31 Bury Street, EC3, would also feature retail and community spaces.
According to planning documents, the proposed tower would be about 2m taller than 30 St Mary’s Axe just yards away from it, which stands at 180m.
The skyscraper would also feature a cutback of some of its upper section to accommodate for the visual impact it could have on the surrounding area.
However, Historic Royal Palaces, which manages the Tower of London less than a mile away, said it would still have a “damaging visual effect” on views around the famous landmark.
Adrian Phillips, HRP’s palaces and collections director, wrote that in spite of the cutback, he was concerned the new building “would appear to rise directly out of the White Tower” from certain angles.
Moreover, he continued, the proposed block “would now inevitably increase the existing compromise of the free space around the White Tower”.
According to the project’s website, the new skyscraper would be “one of the most sustainable buildings in the City of London”, and would operate at net-zero after it was completed.
WELPUT, one of the capital’s largest unlisted funds, bought Bury House in 2015 as part of a push to increase its exposure to the City of London.
BentallGreenOak, WELPUT’s fund manager, has not responded to requests for comment.
