587 Skyscrapers To Rise In London Over Next 10 Years
UNITED KINGDOM – New London Architecture’s annual review shows that up to 587 tall buildings could be constructed in London in the next decade. Of this, 310 have been granted full planning permission, while 127 are under consideration, reported the Mail Online on Wednesday evening (29 December, SGT).
However, the construction of most of these upcoming skyscrapers are yet to start, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a considerable slowdown in the construction work, and the prevalence of working from home (WFH) created uncertainty on the demand for office space.
Based on figures from Deloitte, half of new construction starts in London and a similar percentage of completions were delayed last year in the middle of COVID lockdowns.
Nonetheless, 2020 saw a 10.8 percent year-on-year increase in planning permissions granted for tall buildings in London. This marked the 3rd straight year of increase in such permissions granted.
Among the tallest upcoming office towers is 1 Undershaft, a 951ft (290m) tall skyscraper nicknamed as The Trellis due to its distinctive crossbrace facades on its 4 sides. Notably, it will be 66ft shorter than London’s tallest building, The Shard, because of the 1,000 ft height restriction in central London.
The 970,000 sq ft commercial property was given planning permission by The City of London Corporation after the proponent and owner, Singapore developer Aroland Holdings, waged a 3-year battle to obtain approval to tear down the existing Aviva Tower and replace it with The Trellis.
Aroland Holdings revealed that the 1 Undershaft can accommodate up to 1,200 employees. While future demand for office space in The Trellis is still uncertain, some property experts are upbeat on the prospects of London’s office market.
“The outlook for new office buildings in the City of London is remarkably positive at the moment despite the likely increase in home working,” commented Peter Murray of New London Architecture.
“This optimism is buoyed by a long-term shortage of supply as well as a flight to quality by occupiers who wish to encourage staff to return to work in the office,” he added.
