The developer of a £45m tower in south-east London has attacked a recommendation by English Heritage that the plan should be scrutinised by deputy prime minister John Prescott.
Brookmill Estates claims that English Heritage's view of the John McAslan-designed scheme in Deptford is out of step with responses from other bodies such as the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment and the Greater London Authority.

It follows an English Heritage letter sent to Lewisham council last week objecting to the height of the 26-storey building, at the Old Seagar Distillery, and its impact on adjacent listed buildings. The letter, which said that the application should be called in by the DETR, stated: "English Heritage considers the proposals to be fundamentally flawed and the site unsuited to a tall building." It said the scheme needed to be rethought so it was low-rise, contextual and based on a clearer understanding of conservation-led regeneration.

In a statement, Brookmill director Graham MacDonald questioned this argument. He said: "We do not believe that English Heritage's response to our application accurately reflects the high architectural quality of our proposals, the breadth of supporting information, or the fact they are in line with the adopted planning brief for the site. Its comments are certainly out of line with responses from most other consultees." The dispute underlines confusion among developers and architects over the issue of tall buildings and a feeling that English Heritage has a prejudice against them. It recently opposed the 221 m Heron Tower planned for the City of London and the 41-storey Richard Rogers Partnership tower at Paddington.

Greenwich council said the body was reserving its position on the height of the tower until it received a definite view from the GLA. Authority.