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‘Skinny Shard’ scrapped as Paddington Pole becomes a cube

Controversial plans to build a 72-storey tower in Paddington, dubbed the ‘skinny Shard’, have been scrapped after local opposition to the scheme forced developers to return to the drawing board.

Sellar Property Group, the developers behind the project, are now set to reveal new designs as part of a three-day public exhibition starting this Saturday, which will reveal that designs for the vast tower have been significantly scaled back.

Designers Renzo Piano, who masterminded the original Paddington Pole design, have now redeveloped the scheme into a more modest 18-storey office development which could potentially house up to 4,000 workers.

According to Architects’ Journal, the new direction for the scheme has also been influenced by the increasing uncertainty in the capital’s residential market as the developers move away from high-end flats to the currently more profitable commercial office sector.

Commenting when the initial plans were rejected back in Ferbuary, the Leader of Westminster City Council, Cllr Philippa Roe, said: “Our Paddington opportunity area makes up the largest regeneration area within Westminster and is a site of strategic importance in London.

“This kind of major investment in the city is vital to provide an environment where business can thrive, creating new jobs to help people achieve their aspirations and to tackle the blight of unemployment. Schemes such as this act as a catalyst for additional investment and will really kick start and boost regeneration in that area.”