The very unique gouged building in London

The rules have since been expanded and codified in the London View Management Framework, which details the precise coordinates of the 27 protected views and 13 protected vistas – even taking into account the curvature of the Earth, so distant are some of the precious prospects. They are classified into four categories, including London Panoramas, such as the view from Parliament Hill; Linear Views, such as the Mall to Buckingham Palace; River Prospects, including the Victoria Embankment; and Townscape Views, including Parliament Square to the Palace of Westminster. But St Paul’s still reigns supreme, enjoying protection not only from buildings obscuring its foreground, but also from things popping up in the background – in theory, at least.

Conservationists’ eyebrows were raised in 2016 when it was belatedly discovered that the expensive shaft of Manhattan Loft Gardens, a 42-storey tower of luxury flats in Stratford, was poking up behind the dome of St Paul’s like a chubby middle finger. The fact that this was only visible through a telescope from a mound in Richmond Park, 20km away, where a hole is especially cut in a hedge to preserve the vista, mattered little to outraged critics with telephoto lenses. (The LVMF protected view stipulates the background should be protected up to 3km behind St Paul’s, whereas the tower is 7km away.)

April 9, 2025 | 5:00 am