London's Shard has built an entire brand around having incredible views. It's the main and, for many people, the only reason to go. So understandably, the team behind Shard's high-end restaurant Oblix are pretty narked that a new towerblock is coming along to block their vistas across the city.
The views from the tippy top of the 95-storey-high Shard are safe. But poor Oblix is only on the 32nd floor, and the new towerblock will be 22 storeys high – blocking a lot of its views over the city beyond. Oblix's bosses protested the planning application for this new building, writing 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'. But planning officers responded that the restaurant had 'no entitlement to a view over a third party’s land'. Ouch.
The new towerblock is called Colebrook House, and will sit on the site of an underused '60s office block of the same name. This shiny monolith will provide a new home for Southwark Playhouse, a theatre which is currently located in Elephant & Castle, and which programmes a quality mix of new musicals and plays. It'll also have a bar, shops, a gym, and 797 secure bike parking spots. It'll be elevated, to make room for a (presumably quite shady) public park at street level, with greenery, water features and art installations. So although Oblix might not be happy, it sounds like nature fans, theatre fans, and bike fans might just be.
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