Land Securities’ proposed development of the ‘Walkie-Talkie’ at 20 Fenchurch Street in the City has been put on hold after the government decided to call in the scheme, it emerged this afternoon.
Land Securities announced today it had received notification from the Government Office for London of The Secretary of State to call-in its planning application for the 850,000 sq ft (78,966 sq m) Rafael Vinoly-designed building. The company will be making representations on the Secretary of State’s decision.
The decision to call in the planning application is the second setback for the ambitious scheme. Land Securities was forced to scrap original designs for the building in July after it was decided that the 45-storey tower would obstruct views of St Paul’s Cathedral. It agreed to reduce the height of the building by 65ft and the scheme finally won planning consent from the Corporation of London in September.