By Andrew Batt:
The U.K. government has given the green light to One Nine Elms (pictured) which, at 200-metres will be the tallest residential tower in Western Europe.
In what is the first demonstration of the government’s new hands-off approach to planning and housing delivery, ministers have confirmed that they will not seek to call in the planning application for Green Property’s One Nine Elms scheme in Vauxhall, London.
Secretary of State Eric Pickles confirmed that planning consent for the £500 million (S$990 million) collaboration between Green and their development managers CIT, would not be called in by his department.
Coming just four days after the Chancellor George Osborne signalled a major deregulation of planning laws as a means of boosting the British construction industry; the decision will enable the creation of up to 1,000 jobs during and after construction.
The scheme also had the backing of London Mayor, Boris Johnson, who in a letter to Eric Pickles on August 31 urged him to "demonstrate the government’s commitment to economic growth and allow this decision to proceed at the local level".
Michael Tapp, Director of developer Green Property said: "The decision of the Secretary of State not to call in the ONE project is a ringing endorsement of the hard work that the development team have devoted to delivering a scheme which is of the highest architectural standards and will bring real benefits to this area of London.”
The twin-tower development, designed by architects Kohn Pederson Fox (KPF), will be built on the site of the current 22-storey Market Towers building. When complete, the scheme will include the 58-storey (200-metre) City Tower and the 43-storey (160.5-metre) River Tower, 487 high-quality new homes including 51 affordable units, some 11,000 sq m of modern office space, a 209-room 4-star hotel, 720 sq m of retail space and a major new public square.
The existing Market Towers buildings are now entirely vacant, enabling an early commencement of the redevelopment scheme.
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