Labour to scrap Westminster Council’s tall building plans if elected in May

Here’s why

Westminster Labour Group are committing to scrapping the Conservative Council’s proposed approach to tall buildings if Labour are elected to run Westminster at the May 3rd Council Elections.

In March 2017 Westminster Council launched a consultation on its plans entitled Building height: Getting the right kind of growth for Westminster where it extolled the potential benefits of increasing the number of tall buildings across Westminster. After initial resident anger the Council has delayed coming forward with its final plans as part of the delayed Westminster City Plan process- the results of which risk not being announced before the election.

Westminster Labour is open to exploring increased density or the addition of one or two floors to existing buildings in appropriate locations if such development delivers clear benefits for local residents. However it is strongly opposed to the elements of the Council’s current approach that could see the spread of tall buildings beyond the current clusters or see significant intensification of towers within the clusters.

Recent controversial tall buildings approved by Westminster Council include the Paddington Cube (originally the even more controversial Paddington Pole), West End Gate and Hathaway House.

Westminster Labour Group Leader Cllr Adam Hug said: “Labour will scrap the Council’s proposals on tall buildings that could allow the spread of towers across Westminster. Instead we will look to work with local people about how to deliver well-designed, lower-rise high density schemes that benefit our residents as well as our business communities.”