London mayor urged to act over tower that ‘compromises’ St Paul’s view
虽然距离10英里，从Richmond可以很清楚的看到圣保罗大教堂，这一条10个mile的view是被法律保护的，不允许建房种树挡住。前段时间Richmond Park Friends的人突然发现，在Stradford正在建的一个42层高档居民楼在圣保罗大教堂背后冒出来完全破坏了view，估计审批planning permission的时候没有人注意到这个问题吧，现在开发商有planning permission所以他们的楼是合法的，但这个楼房确实破坏了被法律保护的view，两边在较上劲了，现在就看Citizen Khan有没有办法找出一个调和方案了。
Friends of Richmond Park charity wants Sadiq Khan to halt construction of Manhattan Loft Gardens in Stratford。Sadiq Khan is being urged to halt the construction of a skyscraper because it mars a centuries-old view of St Paul’s Cathedral.
Conservationists are calling on the London mayor to take action against a 42-storey tower in Stratford, east London, which they say damages the view of Sir Christopher Wren’s landmark from King Henry’s Mound in Richmond Park.
The charity Friends of Richmond Park has written to Khan urging him to halt the construction of Manhattan Loft Gardens, designed by SOM and described on its website as “Europe’s most ambitious residential tower”. It comprises three extensive sky gardens, a 145-bedroom hotel, almost 250 residential units, and retail and restaurant space.
SOM’s proposed 42-storey mixed-use skyscraper by Stratford station, near the Olympic Park in east London.
SOM’s proposed 42-storey mixed-use skyscraper by Stratford station, near the Olympic Park in east London. Photograph: Architect’s Journal
The charity said current planning rules should have protected the view, which has existed for more than 300 years and draws crowds of visitors to Richmond Park. Under the capital’s overarching planning document the London Plan, the London view management framework (LVMF) states that any development in the background of St Paul’s should be “subordinate to the cathedral and that the clear sky background profile of the upper part of the dome remains”.
However, photographs released by Friends of Richmond Park show that the emerging skyscraper in Stratford is clearly visible behind the cathedral. A clear strategy on tall buildings is the only way to control developers
The charity said on its website: “The new development clearly and substantially compromises the profile of the whole of the dome of St Paul’s and, for almost the entire east side of the building, the clear sky background is obliterated.”
Its chairman, Ron Crompton, said in a statement: “It is a tragedy that such a wonderful and iconic protected view, between two of London’s most historic landmarks and created over 300 years ago, should be destroyed not just for today but for many years to come.”
Crompton’s letter to Khan calls for an urgent investigation into how GLA officers allowed the proposal to win planning, in contravention of the LVMF. He has also called for the housing and planning minister Gavin Barwell to ensure that future applications relating to the sight line are referred to English Heritage and the mayor.
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Historic England, the UK’s statutory adviser on heritage, has also protested against the development and said it was not consulted. Its London planning director, Emily Gee, told the Architects’ Journal (AJ): “In the wrong places, tall buildings can do serious, irrevocable harm to important views and the special character of London.
“We are very concerned that this has happened and see it as a failing of the current approach to the planning for tall buildings.”
The AJ reports that the planning application for the tower was referred to the GLA in 2010 by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), which was acting as the planning authority in the run-up to the London Olympics.
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A spokeswoman for the Manhattan Loft Corporation told the Guardian the developer went through a transparent and public process to gain planning permission, adding that that maps of the LVMF protected view indicated that the background area to be protected beyond St Paul’s was 3km (1.86 miles) long whereas its tower was 7km (4.35 miles) beyond.
“Throughout the planning process we found the GLA and all the other planning bodies to be very supportive for such an aspirational residential project,” the spokeswoman said. “As planning approval was achieved [on] 18 July 2011, we were never asked about the LVMF background view impact.
“However, SOM has a long history of working with the St Paul’s view corridors and the more recent London Plan LVMF document.
“We would recommend that the King Henry VIII’s Mound also be illustrated as seen from the naked eye where the distance to St Paul’s Cathedral is 15.5km (and Manhattan Loft Gardens is an additional 7km beyond).”
A spokesman for Khan said: “We are currently looking into the issues involved with this development.”
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