A charity has called for a new tall buildings policy to stop high-rises undermining the form and character of cities.
Policy Exchange is calling for a comprehensive and coherent city-wide tall buildings policy for the capital. It argues this would guide the development of high-rises in the city and prevent 'irresponsible and inappropriate' developments.
Its new report goes on to argue this policy could be replicated in other affected UK cities such as Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and Norwich.
The report argues: 'We believe such a policy might have helped Liverpool retain the World Heritage Site listing it was stripped of in the summer.
'While we appreciate tall buildings are uniquely sensitive to local issues, we believe some sort of national guidance framework, based on London’s pilot model, could be invaluable in inserting clarity and precision into a tall buildings planning process that frequently lacks either.'
A public poll conducted by the charity shows 71% of people believe tall buildings should not be allowed to interfere with historic views, with 70% believing they should fit in with their surroundings.
