The 'Penny Whistle' hits wrong note for Ealing

A skyscraper designed by Gherkin architect Lord Foster as the centrepiece of a multi-millionpound redevelopment in Ealing has fallen foul of the Government's design watchdog.

The 40-storey block of flats, nicknamed the Penny Whistle because of its distinctive shape, would be one of the tallest buildings for miles.

But residents have complained it is inappropriate for the area and now the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment says planning permission should not be granted.

A commission spokesman said: "It will be a landmark and is not yet of a high enough architectural quality. For such a prominent development in the heart of Ealing, the public space proposed does not work, failing to create successful pedestrian routes between its central piazza, the station square and the tower."