Heritage ‘buffer zones’ threaten KPF towers

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09 March 2007

By Tom de Castella


Over £1.5 billion of private investment to improve one of the capital’s worst transport blackspots could be threatened by tough new measures to protect world heritage sites.

As Land Securities’ Victoria Transport Interchange — which includes two KPF towers — was unveiled this week, a long-awaited heritage White Paper promised “buffer zones” around the country’s 24 world heritage sites (see In Brief, page 2). This includes the Palace of Westminster which would be directly affected by the scheme, Westminster council predicted.
The impact of tall buildings on world heritage sites is now influencing government policy after Unesco threatened to put several sites on its Heritage in Danger list.
The scheme, which is masterplanned by KPF and involves Lynch Architects, Allies & Morrison, Benson & Forsyth and Wilkinson Eyre, also faces opposition from the Victoria Interchange Group, a coalition of more than 30 resident and amenity organisations, BD has learnt.

Westminster council’s head of planning, Gordon Chard, said that designs for the larger, 160m-high tower would damage views of the Houses of Parliament. “From the modelling I’ve seen it is a potentially clever scheme,” he said. “But at the moment the taller tower intrudes into the important view to the Palace of Westminster.”
Land Securities declined to comment, but Patrick Lynch of Lynch Architects said the scheme was vital to London’s future.
“Millions of people use the station but the relationship between buses and trains is shocking,” he said.
The scheme will be submitted in May and is the biggest planning decision Westminster council has ever had to make.

Fonte: BDonline