Planners Want To Shrink 20 Fenchurch Street

Plans for a skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street in the City of London will have to be scaled down from their current 192 metres following concerns that the tower will be visible from some of the most important views in the City of London. Of prime concern is the view from Ludgate Circus where the skyscraper will appear directly behind the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, something that would shatter the planning policy of the Corporation of London who aim for a certain "purity" of the historic cathedral from specific viewpoints, an idea that nothing should appear directly behind it. The result of these concerns means that the project will have to be scaled down by 20 metres in height so that it no longer becomes visible, raising complications of losing valuable for developer Land Securities giving them a series of options.Because the top of the tower contains the most floor space whilst it tapers in with the narrowest floors lower down, any height reduction would change the proportions of the building making it appear bulkier, a shorter skyscraper with the same ones would also have to be narrowed down further sacrificing accomodation to keep the same look.In effect, the shape would have to be changed if the floor-space is to remain at similar levels to what they plan to develop. If they go down this route the tower will either have to be fattened out in the middle reducing it's unique 'walkie-talkie' appearance or have sacrifices made with the generous public realm. The other choices are that the scheme remains broadly unchanged and everything is scaled down proportionally with a loss of floor-space or that a completely new design is released. Those working on the project have said that the new design will be unveiled on Tuesday by Land Sec and architect Rafael Vinoly so that it can be considered in time for September. They haven't said what changes are involved or whether this is a revision taking in the planners worries rather than an entirely new building with no resemblance to the previous one.The scheme is due to go before the planning committee on the 18th of this month giving the committee the chance to vote not only the present design which will be rejected but also whether they would be minded to approve a new design with amendments of a height decrease. This would not be a formal decision on the new plans, those will have to wait for the September meeting.Even with this 2 month delay in the project, it should still be possible for the developer to do on schedule, something that they have announced they plan on engaging in speculatively, as the site needs clearing of it's current sixties occupier before any construction can begin.