Twin skyscrapers set to dwarf Clapham Junction

This is the first image of a £400million scheme that will transform Clapham Junction, the world's busiest railway station.

The twin skyscrapers - which will dwarf every building for miles around - will be the centrepiece of the development, which was unveiled today.

Along with the two 127-metre high towers, which will contain 500 homes, there will be a large pedestrianised shopping centre.

Clapham Junction station itself, which many commuters have criticised for being shabby and overcrowded, will be revamped with an emphasis on better access to and between platforms.

The plans by developers Delancey and Land Securities, which are working with Network Rail, will also see nine new lifts and better access to all 17 train platforms from the footbridge.

The plans are now going out to consultation and the developers aim to submit a planning application to Wandsworth in spring.

Glenn Burton, a spokesman for the developers, said: "Our proposals will transform Clapham Junction town centre." Network Rail route director David Pape said: "These proposals fit with our long-term strategy to improve Clapham Junction station for everyone."

However, experts believe that the plans are likely to meet similar objections to those that greeted a scheme submitted in October for two residential towers on the site of the Young's Ram Brewery, also in Wandsworth. Developer Minerva, which bought the brewery site for £69million last August, want to build two residential towers of 39 and 29 storeys as well as shops, restaurants and riverside cafés but critics, including the Wandsworth Society, objected to the location and the scale of the buildings.

Developers are increasingly keen to build high-rise towers in the suburbs, to the horror of local councils and residents.

Last summer plans for a 17-storey building near Sidcup station were rejected by Bexley council, after being described as "a little too exciting".

Tower plans are also being fought in Ealing, Lewisham and Elephant & Castle.

Mayor Ken Livingstone has been accused of promoting new skyscrapers at the expense of London's architectural heritage.

Tory Mayoral candidate Boris Johnson has made in plain that he will oppose tower developments in suburban locations. He said: "When I look at some of the plans for the 27 phallocratic towers that Ken wants to erect in the suburbs, I wonder whether we have learned anything from the experience of the last 50 years."