50-storey tower block gets green light

John Prescott has overruled a planning inspector to give the go-ahead to a controversial 50-storey block of flats in Vauxhall.

The slim silver tower, which would be the largest residential building in Britain, was opposed by local residents and Lambeth and Westminster councils, while English Heritage said it would harm an important view of the Houses of Parliament.

However it was strongly supported by Mayor Ken Livingstone, who spent ?96,000 on a public inquiry supporting the scheme.

The Deputy Prime Minister's approval - which he admitted was finely balanced - is conditional on developers St George increasing the proportion and size of affordable homes within the scheme, none of which are in the main tower.

Mr Prescott noted that the private flats had a high proportion of three and four bedroom units, while 80 per cent of the affordable units were studios, one-bedroom and twobedroom flats.

He has given the developers until 12 May to submit revised proposals for larger affordable flats and more rented, as opposed to sharedownership, units, to meet local housing needs.

In spite of the affordable issue, Mr Prescott decided that the tower was justifiable in its proposed location because "it would offer a greater intensification of use of the site and will make a greater contribution to the regeneration of the wider area".

Other factors outweighed the concerns of English Heritage, he said.

According to opponents of the tower, Mr Prescott's decision is another example of the Deputy Prime Minister siding with the Mayor in allowing tall buildings to spring up in London to the detriment of some of the city's most famous views.

Last year Mr Prescott gave permission for a 60-storey tower at London Bridge, known as the Shard of Glass. The 1,000ft tower, designed by architect Renzo Piano, will be Europe's tallest building.

Mr Livingstone backed the Vauxhall tower because he said it would

provide desperately needed housing.

The Vauxhall Tower was proposed in 2002 and rejected the following December by Lambeth Council, who said the scheme failed to provide adequate public facilities. They also said it contained only 27 per cent affordable housing, well short of the Mayor's target of 50 per cent. The developers appealed, and the inquiry was heard last summer.

Lambeth's regeneration chief Andrew Sawdon said recently: "The council's position in rejecting the scheme as submitted has been fully vindicated. Mr Prescott has agreed with us about the provision of larger units of affordable housing. The Mayor, who tried to bully us into approving the scheme and threatened us with punitive costs if we didn't, has been proved wrong."