London still seeing its share of new tower launches

Political uncertainties and meandering Brexit negotiations don’t seem to have tired UK’s developers much when it comes to new high-rises.

In the residential space, nine towers of 40 storeys and more have been given the go-ahead since October 1, 2016. And that’s in London alone, including three within the city.

In the preceding two years, 17 such projects were approved, according to data from Knight Frank. But market sources say London’s property market can take the drop in its stride.

When it comes to office towers, eight schemes were approved since the 2016 referendum vote, as against the one scheme a year in the previous two years.

GLA plans

“Local authorities are encouraged by the Greater London Authority (GLA) to plan for tall buildings where appropriate — very close to exceptional transport links, for example,” said Patrick Gower, residential research associate, Knight Frank.

“As a result, tall buildings are no longer refined to the very well established clusters in the city of London and Canary Wharf. The Vauxhall, Nine Elms, Battersea cluster has now taken shape, but others are emerging in Croydon and Stratford.”