23A1_Serpentine to Westminster

Viewing instructions:
All images should be viewed in ‘full screen’ mode by clicking the ‘+’ icon in the top right of the image. When the image is opened in full screen mode you will see a scale bar at the bottom of each image. Use the scroll wheel zoom function and a ruler held against the screen to ensure the scale bar correctly measures 10cm when viewed at a normal viewing distance (approximately arms length). The size of objects in the view will then equate approximately to the size they would appear when viewed at the scene. This technique is known as ‘Real Scale’ viewing.

LVMF – Serpentine Bridge 23
The Serpentine Bridge crosses the centre of the Serpentine in Hyde Park. One viewing location is described and contains a single assessment point on the eastern footway of the bridge. The Assessment Point is identified in the draft as 23A.1. The Assessment Point is the starting point for a Protected Vista towards The Palace of Westminster – this is an additional constraint now being applied to this view compared to the 2007 guidance.



Viewing Location 23A
Assessment Point 23A.1:
• Assessment Point 23A.1 is orientated towards The Palace of Westminster.
• The Protected Vista from this position towards Westminster is an additional vista that does not appear in the 2007 guidance. However the assessment point is identical to that in the 2007 guidance, which was not subject to geometric definition.
• The Protected Vista from Assessment Point 23A.1 comprises a foreground Viewing Corridor that slopes from 22.0 AOD up to meet the Palace of Westminster at a height of 48.5m AOD over a distance of 3.4km.
• The Viewing Corridor where it meets the Palace is 215m wide and encloses the southern half of the Palace and the entirety of Westminster Abbey. No lateral Assessment Areas are described.
• The Background Assessment area continues at the height of 48.5m AOD from the Palace up to 75.8m AOD for a distance of 3.5km further east into Elephant and Castle, culminating in a width of approximately 436m.
• The Visual management Guidance in the draft states that new development in the background of the view should be ‘subordinate’ to the World Heritage Site.

References
1. Draft revised Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework May 2009 – Pages 198-202
2. Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework – July 2007 – Page 209-211
read more...

24A1_Island Gardens

Viewing instructions:
All images should be viewed in ‘full screen’ mode by clicking the ‘+’ icon in the top right of the image. When the image is opened in full screen mode you will see a scale bar at the bottom of each image. Use the scroll wheel zoom function and a ruler held against the screen to ensure the scale bar correctly measures 10cm when viewed at a normal viewing distance (approximately arms length). The size of objects in the view will then equate approximately to the size they would appear when viewed at the scene. This technique is known as ‘Real Scale’ viewing.

LVMF – Island Gardens 24
Island Gardens lie on the north side of the Thames opposite the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage Site. One viewing location is described and contains three assessment points each on the public footway adjacent to the river wall. The Assessment Points are identified in the draft as 24A.1, 24A.2 and 24A.3. A Protected Silhouette of the World Heritage Site is defined from each Assessment Point.



Viewing Location 24A
Assessment Point 24A.1:
• Assessment Point 24A.1 is orientated towards the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage site. The position is identical to that described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.
• The following constraints are described as part of the visual management guidance of the background elements beyond the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage site from this viewing position;
o Development that affects the silhouette of the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage Site will have a negative impact on the setting of the landmark. Views of the World Heritage Site are subject to a Protected Silhouette when viewed from any position at or between 24A.2 and 24A.3 (defined by the purple lines on the photographs). Development that affects this silhouette should not be supported.

Assessment Point 24A.2:
• Assessment Point 24A.1 is orientated towards the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage site. The position has been moved approximately 41m south-west to that described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.

Assessment Point 24A.3:
• Assessment Point 24A.1 is orientated towards the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage site. The position is an additional position to those described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.
• The Assessment Point is located approximately 71m north-east of 24A.1.

References
1. Draft revised Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework May 2009 – Pages 204-209
2. Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework – July 2007 – Page 212-216
read more...

25A1_City Hall

Viewing instructions:
All images should be viewed in ‘full screen’ mode by clicking the ‘+’ icon in the top right of the image. When the image is opened in full screen mode you will see a scale bar at the bottom of each image. Use the scroll wheel zoom function and a ruler held against the screen to ensure the scale bar correctly measures 10cm when viewed at a normal viewing distance (approximately arms length). The size of objects in the view will then equate approximately to the size they would appear when viewed at the scene. This technique is known as ‘Real Scale’ viewing.

LVMF – Queen’s Walk to Tower of London (City Hall) 25
The Queen’s Walk is on the south bank adjacent to City Hall. One viewing location is described and contains three assessment points each on the public footway adjacent to the river wall. The Assessment Points are identified in the draft as 25A.1, 25A.2 and 25A.3. A Protected Vista is defined from 25A.1 to and beyond the Tower of London World Heritage Site and a Protected Silhouette of the World Heritage Site is defined from each of the Assessment Points.



Viewing Location 25A
Assessment Point 25A.1:
• Assessment Point 25A.1 is orientated towards the Tower of London World Heritage site. The position is identical to that described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.
• The Protected Vista from Assessment Point 25A.1 comprises a foreground Viewing Corridor at 6.1m AOD to the low wall that encloses the front of the Tower over a distance of 400m.
• The Viewing Corridor where it meets the Tower is 90m wide – the same as the 2007 guidance.
• The Background Assessment area starts at the height of 25.7m AOD from the Tower up to 164.6m AOD for a distance of 2.5km further north into Bethnal Green, culminating in a width of approximately 727m – the same as in the 2007 guidance. A minor elevation change has been made to the AOD height at the end of the BAA which is of little consequence.

Assessment Point 25A.2:
• Assessment Point 25A.1 is orientated towards the Tower. The position has been moved approximately 66m north-east to that described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.

Assessment Point 25A.3:
• Assessment Point 25A.3 is orientated towards the Tower. The position is an additional position to those described in the current LVMF guidance published in 2007.
• The Assessment Point is located approximately 137m south-east of 25A.1.

References
1. Draft revised Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework May 2009 – Pages 210-216
2. Supplementary Planning Guidance – London View Management Framework – July 2007 – Page 217-227
read more...

Extract from LVMF: Townscape View: Bridge over the Serpentine to Westminster 23A.1

Foreground and Middle Ground
388 Development proposals that are overly intrusive, unsightly or prominent to the detriment of the view as a whole will be refused. From this viewing place developments which fail to relate well in terms of height, scale, massing and materials, and relationship to other buildings in the view, are likely to negatively affect views of the historic features within the World Heritage Site.

389 The line of view crosses Green Park, St James’s Park and Parliament Square, as well as the built-up area to the south-east of St James’s Park. The landscape maintenance regime in the fore and middle grounds, therefore, has a strong influence on the character and composition of the view. It should be reviewed periodically to ensure that the qualities of the view are maintained.

390 A Protected Vista is defined from Assessment Point 23A.1 to the Victoria Tower and the Central Lobby Tower of the Palace of Westminster. It also includes the western towers of Westminster Abbey.

391 The Landmark Viewing Corridor extends across the lake and through the city to the south side of St James’s Park. The Ministry of Justice building in the foreground significantly diminishes views of the Westminster World Heritage Site and is not justification for further development that would impact, in a negative way, on the view.

Background
392 Development in the background in Lambeth and Southwark should not undermine the relationship between the towers of the World Heritage Site through their height or prominence. New tall buildings in the background of the view must be subordinate to the World Heritage Site.

read more...

Extract from LVMF: Townscape View: Island Gardens, Isle of Dogs to Royal Naval College 24A.1, 24A.2 and 24A.3

Foreground and Middle Ground
402 Other landmarks make important contributions to wider views from Island Gardens. New development should be designed so as not to impact on the viewer’s ability to recognise and appreciate these landmarks.

Background
403 Development that affects the silhouette of the Greenwich Maritime World Heritage Site will have a negative impact on the setting of the landmark. Views of the World Heritage Site are subject to a Protected Silhouette when viewed from any position at or between 24A.2 and 24A.3 (defined by the purple lines on the photographs. Development that affects this silhouette should not be supported.


read more...

Extract from LVMF: Townscape View: The Queen’s Walk to Tower of London 25A.1, 25A.2 and 25A.3

Foreground and Middle Ground
414 No development should occur in the foreground because the direct relationship between the Tower of London and the river is essential for it to be recognised and appreciated by the viewer. The trees in the middle ground are an important element in the setting of the Tower of London in the view.

Background
415 Development in the background of the view should relate positively to the Tower of London, including all its constituent parts, in views from viewing location 25A. From all Assessment Points, the World Heritage Site should continue to dominate its surroundings. It is particularly important that anynew development relates positively to the White Tower.

416 Elements in the backdrop of the White Tower would undermine the ability of the viewer to appreciate the landmark and its historical significance to the development of London and the nation as a whole. Any proposed development which breaks the consultation plane of the Landmark Background Assessment Area of the Protected Vista and will be visible above the White Tower will be refused.

417 Proposals sited elsewhere than behind the White Tower and beyond the immediate setting in the distant background, must respect the historic significance of the World Heritage Site. New development should not dominate the WHS ensemble.

418 Early pre-application discussions with the relevant planning authorities and statutory consultees, including the Historical Royal Palaces, are recommended for any proposals regarding tall buildings affecting the wider setting of the Tower of London.

419 Development that would change the silhouette of the White Tower when viewed from Assessment Points 25A.2 and 25A.3, or points in between, would have a negative impact on the setting of the landmark. The World Heritage Site is therefore subject to a Protected Silhouette when viewed from any position at or between 25A.2 and 25A.3 (defined by the purple lines on the photographs). Development that affects this silhouette will be refused by the Mayor and should be refused by the relevant local authority.


read more...

Extract from LVMF: Townscape View: St James’s Park to Horse Guards Road 26A.1

Foreground and Middle Ground
427 No development is expected in the foreground. The middle ground landscape needs to be managed to maintain its dominance in the view.

Background
428 Any further development proposed in the distant skyline background of this view, should be of appropriate scale and geometry. It should not dominate or overpower either of the existing two groups of built form or
the landscape elements between and either side of them, or detract from night-time views. Any tall building proposals in the distant background should relate to one or the other of the existing groups and must be of exceptional design quality, in particular with regard to their roofline, materials, shape and silhouette. New buildings should appear as part of the existing groups of buildings. In particular, buildings that appear above the central third of the Duck Island trees would damage the viewer’s ability to see these groups of buildings in conjunction with the landscaped
foreground and should be refused.


read more...

Townscape View: St. James’s Park Bridge

Viewing Location 26A: Assessment Point 26A.1

Page 222: Paragraph: 428

“In particular, buildings that appear above the central third of the Duck Island trees would damage the viewer’s ability to see these groups of buildings in conjunction with the landscaped foreground and should be refused.”

OBSERVATION / QUESTION: The statement is a mixture of objective and subjective judgement. "One third" is objective, but measuring the 'width' of the trees on Duck Island is somewhat subjective. Winter? Summer? Before or after they are cut (etc?).

QUESTION: How would they damage the viewer's ability to see these groups of buildings?

read more...