Livingstone versus Serota: the High-rise Battle of Bankside

Abstract

In 2001, plans were unveiled by a private developer for a 32-storey residential tower next to the Tate Gallery of Modern Art in Bankside. Although not the tallest building proposed within London's high-rise landscape, this tower became a minor cause célèbre within the city's media. The twists and turns involved in attempts to win — and oppose — planning permission for the building are charted in this paper. Yet, the vociferous battle involved does not reveal distinct political and social fault-lines. Instead, it highlights how an agenda of corporate property-led development has come to dominate efforts to regenerate and re-imagine contemporary London.