More planning applications for residential towers of over 30 storeys were submitted in London last year than in New York.
Developers applied for a record 52 resi towers of 30 storeys-plus in the traditionally low-rise UK capital in 2014, edging ahead of the 51 applications submitted in the original skyscraper city.
The surge in applications, revealed by London Residential Research, comes on top of the 51 tower schemes already under construction, of which 30 were started last year.
However, New York remains ahead of London in terms of super-tall residential towers, with 17 applications for projects over 50 storeys, compared with London’s 10, according to LRR.
Docklands is now the centre of a significant proportion of the resi tower pipeline, with 16 schemes planned, equal to the pipeline of the entire US city of Boston. Vauxhall, SW8, Stratford, E15, and Elephant & Castle, SE1, accounted for half of the 30 towers started last year, with six, five and three respectively.
London’s total pipeline now stands at 275 towers, of which 51 are under construction, 162 have permission, 46 are at the application stage, and 16 are pre-application.
