Beetham Tower plan praised by CABE but Westminster will object

The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment praised Ian Simpson's 68-storey Beetham Tower design after its design review process.

CABE expressed concern about the £500 million building's configuration of family housing, and suggested that there are "weaknesses in the streets and spaces in and around the development", such as the large overhang proposed at the junction of Stamford Street and Blackfriars Road.

CABE's verdict comes after reports that Westminster City Council will formally object to Beetham's planning application, citing its intrusion into the view of Horse Guards Parade from St James's Park.

Westminster's director of planning and city development, Gordon Chard, said in a letter to the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone: "Proposals for large-scale development on the South Bank, for example, east of the former County Hall, and south of Waterloo station, could be very damaging." Chard was writing in response to the Mayor's new planning guidance on sight lines.

• consultation event on the Beetham Tower plans will be held on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September (Friday 3.30pm-6.30pm; Saturday 9am-12 noon) at the London Nautical School in Stamford Street.