The City of London has moved to acquire an interest in 20 Fenchurch Street, otherwise popularly known as the "Walkie Talkie" tower. The Planning and Transportation Committee of the City of London Corporation has given the seal of approval to a recommendation that the City acquire an interest in some areas in order to ensure that developments will go ahead without being stopped by injunctions.
The recommendation suggests the use of section 227 of the Town and Country Planning Act so as to be able to engage the powers of section 237. Following the nod of approval to the recommendation, the City of London then went on acquire an interest in the "Walkie Talkie" tower development project.
"The City of London has a long standing planning policy of promoting development in order to maintain the supply of - and to match the demand for - high quality office space in the Square Mile," says a spokesperson for the City of London. "The Heaney case has cast doubt upon the basis to which rights of lights issues are to be resolved and represents a significant obstacle to future developments both in the city and indeed throughout the country".
He also outlined that the Planning and Transportation Committee had decided to use S237 to help promote increased development without fear of injunctions or other methods that could delay the process. When completed, the "Walkie Tower" will provide 690,000 extra square feet of office space in London.
