Government heritage adviser Historic England has formally objected to Foster & Partners’ Tulip tower proposals for a 305m-high visitor attraction just metres from the practice’s Gherkin building.

The organisation’s principal inspector of historic buildings, Michael Dunn, said the proposals would create a “vertical cliff edge” between the City of London’s eastern tall buildings cluster and the Tower of London, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

“In our view, this sharp contrast, combined with the unusual eye-catching form of the proposed building, reduces the visual dominance of the Tower of London and harms an attribute of its outstanding universal value, namely the tower’s role as a symbol of royal power set apart from the City of London and dominating its strategic riverside setting,” Dunn said.

…