1 Undershaft: Tallest skyscraper in City of London set for go-ahead

A planned skyscraper that will be the tallest building in the City of London - soaring as high as the Shard across the Thames - is set to get the go-ahead next week, eight years after it was proposed.

City Corporation planning officers have recommended the 1 Undershaft office tower scheme for approval ahead of a planning committee meeting next Tuesday.

That means that the 309m-high building is almost certain to be given the green light by the Corporation, although the plans from developer Stanhope would still have to be signed off by Sadiq Khan and the next Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary.

It will be the tallest structure in a remarkable cluster of skyscrapers on the eastern side of the City, which includes the “Bishopsgate sisters” at 22 and 8.

It will sit between the “Cheesegrater” and the “Gherkin” towers.

It was originally approved to be built as long ago as 2016 with a distinctive external lattice structure giving it the nickname the Trellis that has since been dropped.

A new blueprint was submitted earlier this year following “a re-evaluation and response to the post-pandemic needs, revised market demands, and the changing context and aspirations of the City of London”.

The 1 Undershaft office tower would be the tallest building in the City of London

However, the latest version of the proposed building, designed by architect Eric Parry, is still bitterly opposed by Historic England and the Twentieth Century Society, despite late alterations to the design to address concerns.

Historic England has criticised the design of the 74-storey tower, which it described as a “missed opportunity to achieve an exemplar building at the apex of the cluster”.

It is particularly worried that brightly coloured window frames at the peak of the building will harm views of the Tower of London.

The conservation body will flag up its concerns in a report on the Tower of London ordered by UN body UNESCO last month and due to be submitted by the UK government by December 1.

The Twentieth Century Society has objected because the scheme will involve the demolition of the site’s existing sixties 28-storey Aviva Tower.

The objections have been outlined in a 503-page report drawn up by City planning officers, who argued that the scheme’s public benefits outweigh harm to nearby heritage assets.