£450m City block approved after developers lop three storeys of plan

Revised plans for a new £450m tower in the City have been rubber-stamped by the Square Mile’s planning committee after developers chose to lop three stories off the building’s design in response to fierce local criticism.

The City of London Corporation greenlit an adjusted proposal for the 1 Silk Street mega-scheme on Thursday, saying it would deliver a “much-needed, high-quality workspace” to the Barbican and surrounding area.

Earlier incarnations of the scheme, which at nearly 100,000 square feet is poised to be one of the largest new developments in the City, was met with robust local opposition. Barbican residents had argued that the 21-storey building would have affected their access to daylight and had major knock-on effects for the wider estate.

And in the approved submission, developers Lasalle and Lipton Rogers slashed three stories – or 10m – from the height of one of 1 Silk Street’s two blocks, paving the way for planners’ approval. Under the revised plans, the western section will sit three stories higher than the building it is poised to replace, while the eastern section will remain at its original height.

Silk Street scheme to ‘transform’ Barbican area

The City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee chair, Tom Sleigh, said the rehashed proposal was “a stronger one” than earlier efforts.

“The daylight impact on Barbican homes and the way the building meets the street were both reworked along the way,” he added. “What it now delivers is a much needed, high-quality workspace, with the retention of much of the existing structure rather than demolition.”

The changes mean Silk Street will have five per cent less office floorspace than originally intended,

Silk Street’s approval is the latest in a string of planning proposals being rubber stamped by the Square Mile’s local authority as part of a wider push to keep the Square Mile competitive with other financial hubs.

One Undershaft, which is set to be the City’s tallest skyscraper, was approved by planners in December 2024, while the 34-storey 130 Fenchurch Street got the go-ahead under a year later. Last year marked a new record for the number of planning approvals in the UK’s financial district, with officers and committee members signing off on half a million square metres of newly developed office space.

Within the approved proposal for Silk Street, developers incorporated plans for a new pedestrian arcade linking Liverpool Street and Moorgate stations with the Barbican Centre. It also includes a new cultural space – dubbed Silk Street Hall – and more than 13,993 square feet allocated for retail and hospitality firms.

Sleigh added that the building would “transform the public realm around the Barbican” that would create “a more welcoming, inclusive environment with new cultural and community spaces”.