ISSUE: Vauxhall Tower

Councillors have urged neighbouring Lambeth to throw out plans for a fifty-storey tower which would block views from Putney to St Paul's Cathedral

The scheme is the latest phase in the St George's Wharf development which extends from the borough boundary to Vauxhall Bridge. The flats would be twice the height of the Market Towers block which stands at the junction of Nine Elms Lane and Wandsworth Road.

The proposals include flats, restaurants, offices, a health and fitness
centre and car parking. The circular tower would be located at the western end of the site close to the six-storey Riverside Court which is in Wandsworth.

Wandsworth planning applications chairman Ravi Govindia said the developer had clearly been influenced by the Mayor of London's passion for excessively high buildings on the Thames.

"This is a foretaste of what the Mayor's London Plan could mean in practice with developers given the green light to build higher and higher.

"The overall development is so heavily built-up it looks like your worst urban nightmare. It should serve as a warning of the dangers of allowing developers to run away with the idea given to them by the Mayor that anything goes in the name of a bigger city."

The council's objection has been backed by Covent Garden Market Authority. They say the proximity of the 50-storey block to Market Towers would cause a wind tunnel effect.

The application can be viewed on www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning ref 2003/0452

7th July 2003

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