Sixty buildings over 20 storeys were completed last year in London, according to the latest tall building survey from New London Architecture and Knight Frank.
This is a 140% increase on 2018 when 25 tall buildings were completed, and of the 60 tall buildings 88% were for residential use.
In London’s pipeline there are 525 tall buildings planned, of which 89% are for residential use. Outer London boroughs account for 35% of this pipeline. This is a 3% fall on the 541-strong pipeline in 2018.
Newham continues to have the largest share of the future pipeline with 37 tall building planned, while other tall building hotspots include Ealing and Barnet, which have more than eight and five tall buildings in the pipeline.
The number of planning permissions for buildings over 20 storeys also rose by 7% in 2019, which the NLA said suggested an increasing willingness of planning committees to approve tall building proposals.
Peter Murray, curator in chief of New London Architecture, said: “These figures are for a period when the world was very different. Covid-19 means we will have to re-evaluate the direction of development in our cities.
“It raises questions about population growth in London, about property values and social quality. Just as the virus itself created uncharted waters for the medical professions, so its effects on cities are unprecedented in terms of planning, design, development and wellbeing.”
Stuart Baillie, head of planning at Knight Frank, added: “London’s tall buildings completion rate, which amounted to 60 in 2019, is quite staggering. Clearly Covid-19 will impact the pipeline in 2020, but we’re confident that planning policies, land availability and housing need in London are likely to facilitate a return to a stronger tall building pipeline in the medium term.”
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