London has traditionally been a low rise city, however all that is set to change a London faces a new construction boom in which the developments will increasingly grow taller as developers race to meet the housing demands of a rapidly growing population.

Recent research suggests that 263 towers over 20 storeys high are being proposed, have been approved or are already under construction in Greater London

Last year there were 45 such buildings under construction however this year we’re already seeing 70 20+ storey buildings under construction in Greater London.

62 of the 70 towers under construction are residential towers which will provide around 15,000 new homes and it’s believed around 80% of the new towers in the pipeline are residential-led schemes.

The capital’s housing shortage and rising property prices has resulted in investors from all over the world pouring into London.

The proliferation of the numbers of towers in London is of huge debate and concern to many people, especially when thinking about their effects on local communities with many people viewing them as homes for the elite as even the affordable homes in the schemes will be unaffordable to many ordinary Londoners.

Deputy Mayor of London for policy and planning, Sir Edward Lister, said: “London remains a generally low rise city but with the capital set to be home to ten million people by 2030 there is no doubt that sensibly managed and well-designed tall buildings, which sit well within their surroundings, have a key role to play in meeting the challenge of our rapidly increasing population.

“They help provide the choice of housing that Londoners demand and are making a significant contribution with 14,800 units approved. We are working closely with our Boroughs to identify the best locations for clusters of tall buildings, particularly within our Opportunity Areas and this research shows that the vast majority of tall buildings are being built in carefully planned clusters.”

Chair of the Skyline Campaign, Nicky Gavron states “Tall buildings can make a positive contribution to city life and the skyline. But only if they’re in the right places, meet the right needs, and interact well with the character and identity of the immediate and surrounding area.”

East, central and south London will see the biggest rise in tall buildings, with 93% of all towers under construction and 96% of this year’s planning applications, in line with the GLA’s opportunity areas for large-scale development. Tower Hamlets was at the heart of the tower boom last year and continues to see the most activity, with 18 tall buildings under construction, 27 with planning approval and 14 in planning. Other boroughs with a high concentration of towers under construction are Lambeth (11), Southwark (7) and Newham (7). The areas that have seen the most planning applications over the last 12-months, after Tower Hamlets, are Wandsworth (11), Greenwich (8) and Lambeth (10).

Peter Rees, the City of London’s planning officer for close to 30 years and who is now a professor at University College London, said many of the residential units in these buildings would be used by foreign investors as “safe-deposit boxes”

Peter Murray, chair of the New London Architecture (NLA), and a member of the London Mayor’s design advisory group, said NLA supported the idea of ‘tall buildings in appropriate locations’.

‘They focus should be on quality of design on the skyline and at ground level’, he added.

The NLA would ‘continue to make the case’ for a 3D virtual model of London to be created, which "would help in informing policy makers and the public of proposed changes to the shape of the city.”

Commenting on the changes to the London skyline, OBAS CEO Norman Tenray said: "Many people care deeply about London's historic skyline, and it's important that as the population of the UK's capital continue to grow, we demonstrate the courage, confidence and leadership required to overcome the issues surrounding rapid population growth. This will no doubt produce tremendously important developments in the use of construction supplies and materials as the overall designs of buildings, something we're already seeing in the fantastic tall buildings being built around Greater London.

"It's fantastic to see the construction industry at the centre of London's boom, whilst making enormous differences to the lives of poeple in London."