Lloyd’s of London boss makes last-ditch objection to skyscraper plan | USAEMALL.com

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The chair of Lloyd’s of London has come out against plans to build the new tallest building in the City of London across the street from the iconic insurance institution, ahead of a key planning committee vote on Tuesday. 

Bruce Carnegie-Brown wrote in a letter to City officials that the proposed 73-storey skyscraper, called 1 Undershaft, “would rob the City of a really important convening space” by cutting into an existing public square. 

City officials have recommended the tower be approved over objections from neighbours and heritage groups. Carnegie-Brown said the scheme would go against the Square Mile’s “commendable record of opening up additional public space at street level” alongside new developments. 

Carnegie-Brown’s eleventh-hour intervention comes ahead of a vote to clear the way for the landmark project almost 10 years after it was first proposed. At about the same height as the Shard, it will be one of the tallest buildings in Europe.

Lloyd’s recently agreed a lease extension at its Richard Rogers-designed headquarters across the road, the heart of the City’s specialist insurance market where brokers and underwriters still meet face-to-face to hammer out policies.

1 Undershaft would be 50 storeys taller than the existing 23-floor 1960s tower on the site, formerly home to Aviva, whose design was influenced by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe. The Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns to preserve modern architecture, argued it should not be knocked down.

The location sits between four well-known buildings: 22 Bishopsgate, currently the City’s tallest building; 122 Leadenhall Street, known as “The Cheesegrater”; the Gherkin; and Lloyd’s of London, which is Grade I-listed and dubbed the “inside-out” building because its services, such as lifts and pipes, run down the exterior. 

The project was first approved by the City in 2016 as a straightforward tower design by architect Eric Parry. It is being pushed by Aroland Holdings, working with developer Stanhope. Aroland is backed by Singaporean tycoon Kuok Khoon Hong, chair and chief executive of food processing giant Wilmar International Limited, one of the world’s largest oil palm plantation owners.

Last year, Aroland applied for permission to significantly expand the tower, adding one storey to the height, as well as a stepped design that allows for several terraces and adds to the building’s floorspace. The new design, also by Parry, includes an 11th-floor garden and top-level viewing gallery that will be open to the public.

However, the new proposal also takes a large chunk out of an open space at the base of the tower, known as St Helen’s Square. 

Carnegie-Brown said the 11th-floor garden would be “significantly less attractive than the space it would replace” because of security requirements. Similar roof gardens elsewhere in the City require visitors to clear airport-style security, sometimes causing queues.  

Historic England has objected to the development along with the owners of neighbouring buildings, including Cheesegrater investor CC Land and the Universities Superannuation Scheme, who oppose the bulk of the new design and the loss of public space.