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Camden New Journal - by SUNITA RAPPAI
Published: 28 June 2007

The Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur - London's skyline will look like it, warns Sir Simon Jenkins

Ken’s skyline ‘like Kuala Lumpur on a bad day

’Mayor’s new powers allow 50-storey towers to go up, writer warns

LONDON’S skyline will resemble Kuala Lumpur on a bad day if high-rise development is not checked soon, according to influential journalist and columnist Sir Simon Jenkins.
Launching an astonishing attack on London Mayor Ken Livingstone, Sir Simon accused him of betraying conservationists by allowing more and more towers to be built.
Last month, the Mayor’s office was granted new powers which include the relaxing of guidelines covering the building of skyscrapers in areas that may affect historic views for many Londoners, including iconic views from Parliament Hill.
Speaking at a meeting of the Heath and Hampstead Society in Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, Hampstead, on Thursday, Sir Simon said: “The sightlines in Primrose Hill that I used to look at every day are pretty useless now. The desecration of anything you can call a planning policy is so great that I have almost given up. London is going to be like Kuala Lumpur on a bad day.”
He added: “These buildings have no connection with the fabric of London, with the language of the street architecture. They are utterly without meaning and without context. That a great city like London has no planning policy is tragic.”
He claimed that the new powers would enable Mr Livingstone to allow developers “to put up 50-storey buildings instead of 10”. Sir Simon said: “He can tell them to build wherever they like. We are in a real mess.”
Urging the society’s members to fight the plans, Sir Simon added: “It never occurred to me that we would be going backwards rather than forwards as conservationists.
“But actually the argument we thought we’d won, we have lost. And the irony is that the main person who has done that – having fought and fought for an elected mayor of London – is an elected mayor.”
Heath and Hampstead Society chairman Tony Hillier, who has also voiced his opposition to the Mayor’s new powers, backed Sir Simon.
He said: “We are absolutely furious that the Mayor can act in a way that is purely supporting the wishes of developers and very much to the detriment of Londoners.”
A spokeswoman for the Mayor of London said: “Simon Jenkins is wrong. The new guidance for planners and developers for protecting views of our historic landmarks creates clarity and certainty while safeguarding these historically important views for generations to come.
“By far the majority of people consulted agreed with our plans to balance this key aim with the need to allow sensible development to meet demands for new homes and jobs that a growing city must accommodate.
“The notion that the skyline will be ruined by anything new is contradicted by reality, since we all know that the London Eye and the Gherkin have become the new landmarks that Londoners and visitors love to see as they move around the city.”

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