A report by New London Architecture (NLA) and property consultant GL Hearn says a total of 436 tall buildings are in the UK capital’s development pipeline, of which 119 have been proposed or approved since this time last year.
More than 80 tall buildings – classed as those with more than 20 storeys – are under construction, 233 have received planning approval and a further 114 are somewhere in the application or pre-application part of system.
The figures suggest that a construction boom is under way in the capital; by comparison, 19 tall buildings were completed in 2015 and six in 2014.
The borough of Tower Hamlets, which includes the financial centre of Canary Wharf, has shown the most activity: 93 tall buildings are either in planning or at the pre-application stage. Greenwich takes second place with 67 projects, a leap from the eight schemes that were registered last year.
The average height of London’s latest crop of tall buildings is around 30 storeys with eight exceeding 60 floors.
Sir Edward Lister, deputy mayor for planning, said: "London is in the middle of a population boom that shows no sign of slowing down and it’s important we look at a range of options to achieve both the housing and work space need.
"Tall buildings are positioned in the right areas of London in planned clusters that work well together and ensure they make a positive contribution in delivering much-needed homes, affordable housing and jobs."
In March 2014, the Skyline Campaign was launched to oppose the "devastation of London by badly designed tall buildings in the wrong location".
Image: The London skyline (Photo by David Iliff/Wikimedia Commons) License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
