Regular readers will have noticed that we’ve been focusing on the construction boom in cities like Manchester and Birmingham near to two of our Advantage offices in recent months. However, this doesn’t mean that we’ve been ignoring the capital! Admittedly, construction levels in London haven’t been hitting the headlines in the same way that they have in the regions. However, this doesn’t mean that there’s a shortage of ambitious new developments under construction this year.

As reported in the Guardian earlier this week: London’s skyline continues to head upwards, with a record 76 tall buildings due to be completed this year, a three-fold increase from 2018.

The number of tall towers, more than 20 storeys high, planned or under construction has also hit a new record of 541, up from 510 in 2017, according to the latest research from the industry forum New London Architecture (NLA).

The annual survey shows 366 of them are in inner London and 175 in outer London; the latter is up 3%. Taken together, the towers will provide more than 110,000 new homes by 2030, while Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has called for 66,000 new homes a year after “a systematic failure for decades to build enough new homes that are genuinely affordable”.

Quoted on the New London Architecture website, Peter Murray, Chairman of NLA, said:

“We continue to see a steady increase in the number of tall buildings coming forward and with London’s population continuing to increase and the demand for new homes only getting higher, our view remains that that well designed tall buildings, in the right place, are part of the solution. Uncertainties and challenges to deliver these tall buildings remain, which is perhaps why we are seeing a slight slowdown in the in the number of applications, construction starts and completions. However our reports over the past five years show us in the right places, towers allow us to use the finite resource of land very efficiently.”

“NLA has long been calling for a 3D model of London to enable developers to place virtual images of their proposed buildings into a wider model of the capital so that developers, planners and the public can more fully understand their impact. We have looked at all of the available systems and are pleased to be working with VU.CITY, whose London model is the largest, most accurate digital model in the world. We urge architects and developers to upload their projects to VU.CITY – a service that is free of charge – so that it can provide London with the tool it needs for better planning and decision making.”

We’ll keep bringing you the latest construction news from throughout the UK on our regularly updated news page.