London to become ‘Manhattan-on-Thames’ with 600 skyscrapers to be built

Almost 600 skyscrapers are to be erected in London, making the capital look like ‘Manhattan-on-Thames’.

There are 583 buildings of more than 20 storeys “on hold” over the next decade, think tank New London Architecture (NLA) has found.

This is more than double the 270 that were built in the last 10 years.

It comes after Southwark council approved three towers which will create a new ‘cluster’ of skyscrapers.

Demand for taller buildings has been fueled by “demand for office and residential space, overseas investment and a favorable planning environment”.

The group’s co-founder, Peter Murray, said: “Tall buildings have substantially changed the face of London over the last 20 years and will continue to do so – the pipeline the NLA has been tracking means there is at least a 10-year supply that has has already been defined.

“London’s population continues to grow, surpassing the 10 million mark at the end of this decade.

“We still need tall buildings and the NLA will continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”

Among the city’s skyscrapers, the Shard has emerged as Londoners’ favourite, having taken over from the Gherkin, according to the report London’s Growing Up: A Decade of Building Tall.

It also remains the capital’s tallest building, with a length of over 300 meters.

Outside the city centre, the most popular areas for high-rises include Bankside, White City, Nine Elms and Wembley.

But 32% of Londoners think the city has too many tall buildings, the Evening Standard reports.

Mr Murray said: “Tall buildings have substantially changed the face of London over the last 20 years and will continue to do so – the pipeline that the NLA has been tracking means there is at least 10 years’ worth of supply that has already been defined .

“London’s population continues to grow, surpassing the 10 million mark at the end of this decade.

“We still need tall buildings and the NLA will continue to keep a close eye on what’s going on.”

Skyscraper growth began under London Mayor Ken Livingstone and has continued ever since.

This despite the fact that his successor – Boris Johnson – has pledged not to create “Dubai-on-Thames”.

Demand for “greener” Grade A office space has helped fuel demand for skyscrapers as well as student housing.

Nia Fraser, from the planning and development team at consultants Gerald Eve, said: “We will continue to see tall buildings.

“It is more difficult but that has more to do with the challenging economic climate and we may not see those with planning consent brought forward until the market is more buoyant.”

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