Sadiq Khan rejects Tulip tower plans for City of London

The mayor of London Sadiq Khan rejected plans to build a 300-metre skyscraper in the City of London that had been dubbed 'the Tulip' for not being “good enough”.

The building, which was designed by Norman Foster’s architectural practice, was set to be the second tallest building in western Europe before it was judged to not be good enough for the location.

in April, the City of London Corporation, approved the proposal to build the Tulip beside the Gherkin tower.

The project’s backers had claimed that it would attract 1.2m visitors a year even as others argued that it would damage some of London’s most recognisable views.

“The mayor has a number of serious concerns with this application and having studied it in detail has refused permission for a scheme that he believes would result in very limited public benefit,” Khan’s spokesman said.

“In particular, he believes that the design is of insufficient quality for such a prominent location, and that the tower would result in harm to London’s skyline and impact views of the nearby Tower of London world heritage site. The proposals would also result in an unwelcoming, poorly designed public space at street level.”

Khan advised CLC planners to reject permission on the grounds that the design did not constitute the very highest quality of design required for a building in the location and because the proximity, height and materials used would have a negative impact on the Tower of London World Heritage site, resulting in overcrowding in an inconvenient space and with its lack of cycle parking space failing to comply with the London plan for transport.

Responding to the mayor's recommendation, architects Foster + Partners and developers J Safra said: "The Tulip Project team are disappointed by the Mayor of London's decision to direct refusal of planning permission.

"We will now take time to consider potential next steps for The Tulip Project."