The Shard restaurant could be forced to close as new tower will block views

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A 22-storey tower block opposite London Bridge railway station has been approved despite a restaurant fearing the building will block diners’ views as they eat in the Shard.

Bosses at Oblix restaurant and bar, on the 32nd floor of the UK’s tallest building, said the development could force the luxury eatery to close.

The restaurant, which promises customers “world-class cocktails with arguably the best London views,” said its unique selling point would be lost if the development went ahead.

But councillors voted unanimously to approve the tower block by London Bridge Walk at a planning meeting on September 14.

Oblix bosses had raised concerns that the development would “harm views from within the Shard” and said it would “affect the vitality and viability of the restaurant.”

The luxury eatery said that “the proposed development would significantly impact the usable area where tables can be located, damaging the restaurant’s unique selling point and directly affecting revenue.”

In response, planning officers said the restaurant had “no entitlement to a view over a third party’s land”, Southwark council planning documents show. The officials added that it was a “commercial choice” for the restaurant’s operators to decide how to arrange tables.

Colechurch House, a 1960s office block, will be bulldozed to make way for the new building. A footbridge which connects the office block to London Bridge station in Duke Street Hill will also be demolished and replaced under the plans.

The new tower block will be staged in four parts, rising up to 22 storeys. It will also be raised 18.5 metres off the ground to create public space below it.

The building will mainly be used for offices and is expected to create 3,050 jobs. Southwark Playhouse, currently near Elephant and Castle, will be rehoused in the tower block, with space for two auditoriums for 250 and 150 people. The building will also be occupied by shops, a bar and a gym.

Steve Riddell from developer CIT said the current Colechurch House had come to the end of its life and the proposals had the potential to transform the area.

He told a planning meeting yesterday: “It was built in the 1960s and it’s well past its economic life. Colechurch House has been partially occupied and relatively unloved since 2013.

“This is a really important site with the potential to transform the northern gateway to London Bridge. It, therefore, demands exemplary architecture.

“Demolition and rebuild delivers an overall carbon reduction while meeting the council’s aspiration to intensively develop near a key transport node. We are proud to say Colechurch House will be a truly net zero carbon building.”

The building is named after Peter de Colechurch, an engineer who directed the construction of the medieval London Bridge railway station in 1176.

Pictured top: CGI of new development from London Bridge with the Shard behind it (Picture: Southwark council planning documents)