£1bn office development at Victoria is approved

A £1 billion scheme to redevelop six acres of land around Victoria station has been given the go-ahead in what authorities today hailed as a "credit-crunch-defying decision".

The project will create more than 8,500 jobs, 203 flats, 800,000 sq ft of offices and a shopping mall.

Plans for the massive project, called the Victoria Transport Interchange scheme, were agreed at a meeting last night following two years of tense negotiations.

Previous applications, which included plans for three skyscrapers — the tallest of which was 134 metres high — had been rejected by Westminster council over fears it would ruin views of Buckingham Palace.

The new development will regenerate a six-acre island site north of Victoria Street, bounded by Bressenden Place, Victoria Street and Buckingham Palace Road — less than half the original 13.3-acre redevelopment area.

The tallest of the six new structures will be 87 metres and will not obstruct views of Buckingham Palace.