A 140 metre tower for a plot behind the National Theatre has received the stamp of approval from Hazel Blears, the less-than-lofty Secretary of State for Communities and Local Development. Doon Street Tower raised the hackles of English Heritage and others, who prefer their views from Somerset House and St James Park to be unsullied by highrises. Blears’ approval clears the way for the residential tower, which will stand considerably taller than the nearby Shell building. It’s designed by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands for the Coin Street Community Builders, whom you may remember from such developments as the neighbouring Oxo Tower. When and if the building will actually start remains to be seen, given the recent economic queasiness.
