London heritage chief in ‘call to arms’ over tower that spoils view of St Paul's

A top London heritage boss has called for an overhaul of the rules that preserve views of historic buildings following an outcry over “shocking” damage to a protected vista of St Paul’s.

Emily Gee, London planning director for the Government’s heritage adviser Historic England, said it was time for “a call to arms” over the potential encroachments on London’s skyline as so many tall buildings go up.

She was speaking after it emerged that the 42-storey Manhattan Loft Gardens building in Stratford will intrude on views of Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece from Richmond Park.

Developer the Manhattan Loft Corporation has said “at no point” was visual impact on the cathedral raised during the planning process despite it being one of 27 protected vistas outlined in former mayor Boris Johnson’s London View Management Framework in 2012.

Ms Gee said while she was not “anti-tall building” it was “a good time to carry out a thorough review of the framework. I was shocked we were not involved in the consultation on that building”.

Ms Gee made her plea at the launch of a new report on London from Historic England, which calls for heritage to be “at the heart” of the new London Plan being drawn up by Mayor Sadiq Khan for publication in spring 2018.

The report says that a pan-London heritage strategy was essential because “we don’t want to be looking back in 20 years’ time and wondering where London’s magic has gone”.

Historic England says the construction of the Manhattan Loft Gardens tower “demonstrates how the lack of a strategic plan for London means the profound impact of some developments is only being discovered too late”.

The report is part of Historic England’s Keep it London campaign, which aims to convince key decision-makers to give heritage higher priority at a time of rapid growth in the capital.

Ms Gee said: “In a time of great change — and some uncertainty — a solid foundation and sense of history can make us strong. If London loses its special historic character, its distinctive brand goes with it and every community will be worse off.”