More than 500 buildings are set to be built in London, according to figures from New London Architecture (NLA).

In its latest London Tall Buildings Survey, the organisation revealed 510 tall buildings (projects that are over 20-storeys tall) are in London's future construction pipeline, up from 455 in 2016.

In addition, a record number of 115 schemes are currently being built, compared with 91 two years ago.

Since NLA's first report in 2014, 122 tall buildings have been completed and a further 96 are expected to be complete over the next two years.

The analysis, which was carried out with research partner GL Hearn, suggests living in tall buildings is becoming increasingly accepted as a key part of the housing mix. More than 90% (458) of future tall buildings are residential and will potentially provide 106,000 new homes.

The Build-to-Rent sector is also becoming more prominent, with data from EG showing % of the proposed schemes in 2017 were Build-to-Rent, compared with none in 2013.

Political and economic uncertainty, mainly due to Brexit, also appears to have slightly impacted results. The rate of applications is down 10% from 2016 and 35% from 2015, however this year was a bumper year due to the application of Greenwich Peninsula for over 40 tall buildings.


Demands within the industry also played a role as the survey indicates that delivering towers has become more challenging. Only 18 tall buildings were completed in 2017, representing a 30% drop from 2016 (26 completed). There was also a 25% fall in the number of tall buildings coming out of the ground, with work only starting on 40 in 2017.

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."

Stuart Baillie, GL Hearn, said: "GL Hearn remains proud of our contribution to this research and the contribution it makes to the debate on planning for London. Whilst there is a notable slowdown in the volume of new tall buildings entering the pipeline compared to the high of 2016, the rate is actually increasing in the boroughs of Southwark, Newham, Hammersmith & Fulham and Croydon. Inner London remains the focus for the majority of tall building but Waltham Forest and Bromley feature in the pipeline for the first time.

"It is clear from the report findings that tall buildings make a substantial contribution towards realising London's housing targets and in those boroughs where there are multiple tall buildings in the pipeline, this is a significant contribution towards borough housing need."

(LM/MH)