The City of London Corporation has today resolved to grant planning permission to Lai Sun Development Company for their skyscraper at 100 Leadenhall in the City of London. When completed, the structure will reach a height of 263.4 metres making it the third tallest building in the Square Mile.

The City Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee voted to approve the project which will involve the demolition of existing developments at 100, 106 & 107 Leadenhall Street, replaced by the development of a 56-storey building. An estimated 6,300 workers will work in the building upon completion.

The building, colloquially termed “Cheesegrater 2”, will provide over 102,000 square metres of office accommodation, as well as basement showers, cycle parking, ground-floor retail space, two podium terraces and a public viewing gallery on the top two floors which will be served by dedicated lifts.

The first level of the free public viewing gallery will provide 360-degree panoramic views across London while the top floor will offer views to the south, hosting up to 360 guests at a time. Outside of public viewing gallery hours, the levels will be used as a restaurant and bar.

100 Leadenhall Street will be one of the seven tall buildings in the City’s eastern cluster due to complete construction by 2026 that will host a high level free public viewing gallery at its peak, a trend seen nowhere else in Europe.

The development will provide a significant increase in flexible office accommodation in the City. This comes after the amount of serviced office and co-working space in the Square Mile doubled since 2010 with approximately 20,000 people now working from such spaces.

New routes through the site will allow the public to benefit from more navigable and less congested network of City streets. One route will create a link between Leadenhall Street and Bury Street accessible 24 hours per day. Another route connecting Leadenhall Street to St Mary Axe will lead to a new garden space at the rear of Grade I Church of St Andrew Undershaft for City workers and visitors to enjoy between 0600 and 2100.

Deliveries will be managed by an off-site logistic centre and timed deliveries. This will reduce the number of service deliveries by at least 50%, leading to less vehicle congestion and benefits to air quality.

Chris Hayward, Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, said:

“I’m delighted that we have approved latest addition to the City’s growing office district.

“As a leading business district accommodating 483,000 workers every day, it is vital to continue to deliver office space for the significant growth expected with the arrival of the Elizabeth line later this year.

“Leading to a church dating back to the 12^th century, this development demonstrates the City’s distinctive ability to house the old and new side by side, while becoming more accessible to creative workers and members of the public.

“More than ever we are seeing businesses make location decisions based on the quality of built environment and public realm that they can offer their employees.

“Today’s committee decision will boost confidence and international talent in the City of London.”

The City of London Corporation has launched a public consultation on proposed improvements to the tall office building area of the City dubbed the “eastern cluster”.

Proposals include:

• Increase pedestrian priority across the area, including St Mary Axe and Leadenhall Street;
• Greening the area through the planting of trees and the introduction of ‘pocket parks’;
• An ambitious cultural programme featuring pop-up events, art and music;
• Creating flexible spaces that support changing working patterns, including the deployment of ‘smart benches’ which feature mobile charging facilities
• A new brand name for the eastern cluster

A series of drop-in consultation sessions will be held at locations across the Square Mile where City Corporation officers will be available to provide information on the strategy and answer any questions. For more information and to complete the survey please visit this link www.easternclusterarea.london

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Notes to editors

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

Contact Jennifer Ogunleye; Media Officer; jennifer.ogunleye@cityoflondon.gov.uk; 02073323946; 07710860885