In October, the AJ100 practice resubmitted plans for the 74-storey tall building on the landmark site between RSHPs Leadenhall building and Norman Fosters Gherkin, reducing its footprint and opening up the lower levels.Backed by developers Stanhope and Aroland Holdings, the skyscraper will be 309.64m tall, the same as Renzo Pianos Shard, making it the UK and Western Europes joint tallest building. The proposal will replace Gollins Melvin Wards 1969-built 23-storey St Helens Building.The City of London Corporations planning officers had recommended approval for the reworked scheme, even though Historic England had branded the plans arguably worse than the previous proposal, warning the scheme would still seriously degrade the scale and character of the public realm around the site.The heritage watchdog was worried about harm to the significance of three neighbouring Grade I-listed buildings and said the slight reduction of the footprint would not meaningfully improve these impacts. The organisation also decried the introduction of a large digital screen.Historic England had also objected to the original scheme in February over concerns about design and form, particularly as experienced from nearby streets, rather than [the] overall height of the plans.However, following the amendments, neighbouring Lloyds had withdrawn its objection.The scheme was voted through today (13 December) by 16 votes to seven.The reconfigured design includes minor changes to the massing and layout of ground and lower floor entrances, including a reduced footprint for the skyscraper and a welcoming, fully accessible and inclusive public entrance directly from St Helens Square.AdvertisementIn July the City of Londons planning committee had deferred making a decision on the application due to concerns over its ground-level arrangements, including the impact of the cantilevered-hour-long meeting. There were two abstentions.The latest scheme supersedes a much earlier proposal for the 0.72ha site, known as The Trellis. Eric Parry secured consent in 2019 for that scheme, which was a similarly height but aesthetically different. That consent could still be built out as the application was technically implemented, due to demolition on site.The new development aims to deliver 154,000m of office space capable of accommodating up to 8,700 City workers, 1,340m of retail and commercial area, 3,130m of public viewing galleries, and 3,479m of cultural uses under the earlier plans. A dedicated space for the Museum of London is planned for the 72nd and 73rd floors.Earlier in the year, Eric Parry said of the updated plans: One Undershaft is a uniquely welcoming tall building in the City of London that provides free public access on multiple levels throughout the building. These include the London Museums education space and free viewing gallery on the uppermost floors and what will become an extraordinary new elevated public sky garden on the 11th floor.Weve listened to the feedback offered by stakeholders and neighbours and submitted a new design proposal for the lower part of the building that improves upon our earlier plans, with more space available in St Helens Square, a more strongly expressed public entrance to the building, a new public screen and temporary stage providing cultural experiences and intensified planting to the landscaped spaces around the base.AdvertisementCrucially, the benefits of the earlier proposal are retained.Construction is expected to take around five years, with enabling works starting next year and construction finishing in 2030. Source:DBOXEric Parry's revised 1 Undershaft scheme (July 2024)