Corporation of London now talking of imposing a 60-storey limit on tall buildings.
The Corporation of London this week reined back its support for tall buildings in the City after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre.

Judith Mayhew, chair of the City's policy and resources committee, said that the corporation did not favour building taller than 60 storeys.

She said: "There has been a lot of talk about tall buildings. All the evidence from America suggests it is uneconomic to have buildings more than 60 storeys."

Mayhew has been a firm supporter of tall buildings, which she said were required because of a shortage of office space in the City. In March she said that the City would become a "mini-Manhattan", with a cluster of at least six towers.

Present skyscrapers planned for the City, such as the Heron Tower, do not exceed the 60-storey limit but it could hit plans for the £350m London Bridge Tower in Southwark, designed by Renzo Piano, which would have 66 storeys.

Southwark council says it wants to talk to the Corporation of London about how it reached the 60 storey figure.

The disaster has obviously given us pause for thought

Southwark councillor Steve Lancashire

Councillor Steve Lancashire said: "The disaster at the World Trade Centre has obviously given us pause for thought and we will take it into account."

He said it was too early to say how the disaster would affect the London Bridge Tower because it was in the early planning stage.

Construction consultants and architects in New York also backed the move away from skyscrapers.

Andrew Mann, US head of consultant Gardiner & Theobald, said: "I do not see 100-storey towers being built here any more. In the commercial market you have to have tenants who want 100-storey towers. The commercial cost of going above 50-60 storeys is not worth it."

Bruce Fowle, partner in US architect Fox & Fowle, added: "The twin towers were a thing of the past in terms of New York. Nothing like that has been built for many years."

New York aftermath