Debate in Glasgow suggests that tall buildings can be integrated into the city’s landscape, with a focus on balancing increased density and economic growth while preserving existing character and identity.

An emerging policy context for tall buildings in Glasgow is expected to be published soon and will include the preparation of a View Management Plan.

The City Centre Strategic Development Framework (CCSDF) outlines the long-term vision and strategic objectives for the core’s development, recognising new residential opportunities. It acknowledges the need to increase the city’s population to support economic growth, improve social cohesion, and ensure the vitality of the city centre. The SDF emphasises the creation of attractive, affordable, and diverse housing options to encourage people to live in or near the city centre.

NPF4 promotes the sustainable development of brownfield land. When such land is limited in a city centre, building upwards becomes a logical solution to increase residential density. What does this mean for Glasgow and how will new Guidance tackle the relationship between tall buildings and the historic environment?

Long established policy in Glasgow pushes taller buildings to the edges of the city centre to minimise their impact on the historic environment and urban grid. However, other European cities provide interesting approaches to tall buildings and the historic environment.

Vienna, a city rich in architectural heritage and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a strategy called the 2025 Thematic Concept for High-Rise Buildings. It defines the city’s goals for high-rise buildings in line with its history and assesses different urban areas individually.

Rotterdam and The Hague, both modern cities with a rich mercantile history similar to Glasgow, have the High Buildings Policy 2019. Their approach to tall buildings and the historic environment involves accepting high-rise buildings as unapologetically modern landmarks and integrating them into the historic surroundings by creating a stark contrast between old and new.

Liverpool has the Tall Building Supplementary Planning Document 2022, which systematically assesses the entire city, considering factors like built heritage, to determine the appropriateness of tall buildings.

Throughout its history, the general height of Glasgow has increased, with tall buildings piercing the skyline across the city. Victorian Glasgow even had one of the tallest buildings in the world.

We look forward to the publication of guidance on tall buildings in Glasgow and hope this will lead to appropriate development in appropriate locations while meeting the aims and ambitions of both NPF4 and the Glasgow City Centre Strategic Development Framework.