London’s Protected Views: The Real City Planners

It doesn’t often feel like much in this city is protected. Our favourite hidey-holes soon become overcrowded or closed down, our control over what buildings blight our skyline (yes, I’m looking at you Walkie-Talkie) is non-existent, and rent is about as unprotected as it gets. So it comes as a wonderful surprise to discover that of all the things London could look out for, uninterrupted views are top. But why does the government protect vistas and what are the consequences of having a clear view?

Protected Views

Protected views are all part of urban planning and London’s version is so very British. It’s actually a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ – not a law – that requires planners to preserve views of a specific building or place. Sounds pretty unexciting, yet its repercussions are immense. Protected views shape and control a city, particularly its skyline. The hope is that by preserving the picturesque, you maintain character and tradition during inevitable modernisation. With news of London’s new skyscraper ‘The Trellis’ making headlines, all of this suddenly becomes really important.

The London View Management Framework look at four categories when deciding what to protect: panoramas, linear views, river prospects (bridges) and townscape views. Most of London’s 27 protected views are to St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster, but all have a say in development and architecture across the capital.

The Effects

We’ve all seen the Cheesegrater, one of the city’s newest arrivals: its unusual shape has been heralded as both beautiful and relatively unobtrusive. But this shape is actually the result of a protected view of St Paul’s from Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese pub in Fleet Street. “But hold up”, I hear the city workers cry! The pub is west of the cathedral, the Cheesegrater to the east – it doesn’t obscure anything at all. Well that’s where you’re wrong.

Protected views not only halt developments across the immediate line of sight, but behind it too. Constructions that could mar the backdrop of one of these viewing spots is given the cut, or in the case of the Cheesegrater, cut in half. It’s an architectural minefield and a mission for the LVMF to manage, especially when some views are incredibly long.

The vista from Richmond Park to St Paul’s is 10 miles, not including the background area. This is the only view legally protected by an Act of Parliament. When you think about the scale of that across prime London real estate, it’s mind-blowing. It’s also reassuring that there is still some place for the picturesque in cities.

The Future

However, it begs the question of whether or not it’s time to update and add to the list. Why shouldn’t beloved new buildings become protected? Many are calling for Norman Foster’s Gherkin to be preserved before it sinks further into the shadows of new developments. Age cannot be the only factor in whether a building earns an armed architectural guard. It might be time for planners to realise that London is as much about protecting its future as its history.

With so much at stake, perhaps next time we see some unsightly erection (construction-wise, of course) we should consider not what’s being built, but what didn’t get built instead. Bring on The Trellis.

The post London’s Protected Views: The Real City Planners appeared first on Felix Magazine.