Plans for the Tulip, the proposed 305m-high skyscraper in the City of London, do not comply with the London Plan, the Greater London Authority has said in its review of the planning application.
Proposed by J. Safra Group and Foster + Partners, the Tulip would stand next to the Gherkin at 30 St Mary Axe, EC3, and includes new public space and classrooms at the top of the tower.
The GLA said it has “significant concerns” with the design of the building: the height “appears unjustified”, while the “solid and inactive building frontage” was deemed incongruous in the surrounding area. It also raised concerns about the loss of public realm at street level.
In particular, the GLA said the plans would result in a “poor quality, unwelcoming and unnecessarily confined pedestrian environment” which would go against the Healthy Streets policy within the draft London Plan.
The Tulip also fails to provide free-to-enter publicly-accessible viewing areas, which tall buildings should provide under the London Plan.
Further concerns were raised about The Tulip causing harm to the “historic environment”, including compromising views of the Tower of London.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that although the proposals do not comply with the London Plan, there could be solutions to address the GLA’s concerns.
A spokesperson for The Tulip project said: “We are pleased to see that the mayor of London considers the use of a visitor attraction as complementing the City.
“We welcome the detailed technical comments by GLA officers and, as part of the ongoing planning process, we will continue to work closely with the City of London Corporation and the GLA to resolve those matters raised and to improve the package of public benefits associated with the Tulip.”
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