'Tate Tower' rejected

Among those at the planning committee meeting was Tate Director Sir Nick Serota who likened the plan to building a tower block in the British Museum forecourt. The site was until recently a 19th-century stables occupied by a paper merchant.

The rejected proposal was the second for the site after the initial 32-storey plan, opposed by Prince Charles, was turned down earlier this year. London Mayor Ken Livingstone had favoured a tall building but residents in nearby Bankside Lofts and Falcon Point flats objected to loss of views.