Tallest flats in western Europe to be built in Canary Wharf

A London developer is reviving plans to build Europe's tallest residential tower in Canary Wharf's financial district, after it bought the stalled site for £100 million.

The site, which sits on Canary Wharf's north-west corner, was sold by Commercial Estates Group, which had permission to build a 242 metre tall building containing offices, homes and a hotel called the Columbus Tower. It is expected to cost more than £300 million to build.

The Herstmere will tower over the Canary Wharf estate by seven metres when it is completed but will still be overshadowed by the Qatari-funded Shard skyscraper on the banks of the River Thames, which is western Europe's tallest skyscraper at 310 metres high.

Ryan Corporation (UK) Limited said the 75-storey tower would be renamed the Herstmere, and would contain more than 500,000 square feet of luxury residential space or 714 homes.

It would be the tallest tower in London's second-largest financial district and the apartments would have a total value of more than £1 billion when it opens in 2018.

Richard Berridge, chief operating officer for Ryan Corporation told Reuters:

It will work with the local council to revise the scheme's current permission to allow the entire tower to be made up of residential homes, and plans to sell the apartments for an average of £1,600 per square foot, according to Mr Berridge.