Columbus Tower was a planned high-rise development by Commercial Estates Group approved for construction on a site on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England. It includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Haml ...

London Borough The London boroughs are the current 32 districts of England, local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present ...

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a borough in London, England. Situated on the north bank of the River Thames and immediately east of the City of London, the borough spans much of the traditional East End of London and includes much of ...

. The 63-storey, AOD (Above Ordnance Datum) tower would have been located on a 0.36-hectare site at the western end of the north dock at

West India Quay West India Quay is an area in the London Docklands, London, England. It is immediately to the north of the West India Docks and Canary Wharf. The warehouse at West India Quay was used to store imported goods from the West Indies, such as tea, su ...

. At 2009 projected cost was £450M to build and reaching 237 metres in height, and projected was taller only by 2 m than

One Canada Square One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground level,Aviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority and contains 50 storeys. It achieved the title of ...

Planning

The mixed-used scheme, designed by DMWR Architects LLP, included of office space, a 192-room hotel, 74 serviced apartments, a rooftop bar and a restaurant, as well as a large health and fitness club, significant retail space and a publicly accessible Winter Garden at ground level. Columbus Tower would have joined an existing cluster of high-rise development at

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is a financial area of London, England, located in the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The Greater London Authority defines it as part of London's central business district, alongside Central London. Alongside ...

. Located at a high footfall transport interchange hub, the proposed tower’s location was directly above the site earmarked for the approach tunnels to the new

Crossrail Crossrail is a completed railway project centred on London. It provides a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system, akin to the Réseau Express Régional, RER in Paris and the S-Bahn systems of German-speaking countries, kn ...

station at Canary Wharf. In December 2008, a planning application was submitted to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This application was virtually identical to application granted full consent in March 2005. Tower Hamlets councillors initially rejected the second application, but

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

exercised new powers allowing him to intervene and take over the application, and on 7 October 2009 he granted conditional planning permission and conservation area consent for the scheme. In March 2011 Commercial Estates Group (CEG) announced that they had appointed

Squire and Partners Squire and Partners is a British architectural firm founded in 1976 known for designing and executing buildings on key sites in London and internationally. Projects Key projects cover a range of sectors, varying from small bespoke fitouts to la ...

to review the proposals. In November 2013 it was reported that Commercial Estates Group had sold the site to Ryan Corporation (UK) Limited for £100M and that a planning application for a new, residential building would be made. It was subsequently reported that no such sale had taken place. The site was subsequently sold by CEG to Chinese state-owned developer Greenland Group in September 2014 for approximately £100M. A new planning application (PA/15/02675/A1) for the site with a building to be called Hertsmere House was approved by

in February 2016. The development name has since changed to Spire London.

References

{{coord, 51.50715, N, 0.02459, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Skyscrapers in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Canary Wharf buildings Proposed skyscrapers in London

Planning

See also

References