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Eric Parry鈥檚 latest plans for the City of London鈥檚 tallest tower are likely to be approved this Friday despite Historic England branding the scheme鈥檚 revised design as 鈥渁rguably worse鈥� than a previous version it had objected to.

City planning officers have recommended the 74-storey 1 Undershaft scheme for approval ahead of the upcoming planning committee meeting in a 548-page report which praises the tower鈥檚 鈥渟ignificantly improved design鈥�.

It comes five months after a planning decision on the long-delayed project was deferred by councillors due to concerns over its impact on St Helen鈥檚 Square, a plaza at the foot of the tower which would lose almost a third of its area if the scheme was built.

Revised designs submitted by development manager Stanhope and developer Aroland in October have sought to address the loss of public realm land by trimming the footprint of the tower by 10 metres and adding a seven metre-high digital screen at the base of the building.

But Historic England, which strongly objected to the previous version of the proposals which were deferred by councillors in July, has said the proposed screen would 鈥渁rguably worsen the impacts鈥� on the public realm around the site.

鈥淭he present St Helen鈥檚 Square represents some of the best of modern and historic architecture in the City,鈥� the group said, adding: 鈥淭he screen could considerably change its character and function by dominating the space, further to being overshadowed and encroached upon.鈥� 

The government heritage advisor, a statutory consultee on the planning application, argued the latest proposals would 鈥渟till seriously degrade the scale and character鈥� of the square and harm three adjacent grade I-listed buildings including Richard Rogers鈥� Lloyd鈥檚 building.

It said the adjusted footprint of the tower, which would reduce the loss of space at St Helen鈥檚 Square from 30% to 20%, 鈥渨ould not meaningfully improve these impacts鈥�.

The proposed 12.5 metre-wide screen would be used to display a rolling programme of commissioned work, including sporting events and information for tourists, from 7am to 10.30pm.

Planning officers said the feature would 鈥減rovide an opportunity for the public to engage with the City in a wholly different way鈥� while creating a 鈥渦nique space鈥� at the heart of the City鈥檚 eastern cluster of towers.

The report said the revised scheme 鈥渋s considered by officers to fully address the concerns set out at the previous committee鈥�.

Officers added that the parts of St Helen鈥檚 Square which would be lost are the areas least used by the public and the revised scheme would improve the existing square鈥檚 design to a 鈥渟ignificant degree鈥�.

Changes praised in the report included a proposed resurfacing of the square to provide level access and the addition of more trees, seating and two drinking fountains.

The report described the proposed tower itself as a 鈥渞ich and humane tall building鈥� with a 鈥渧isually cohesive and engaging form鈥� which befitted its role as the apex of the City鈥檚 tall building cluster.

鈥淎bove all, a strong and compelling civic quality would be woven throughout the proposal, defining and setting it apart as the cluster鈥檚 totemic centrepiece,鈥� the report said.

Several neighbouring occupiers have also objected to the plans, including the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a 拢90bn pension scheme, which said last month that the proposed screen would create an 鈥渆nvironment of surveillance鈥� in the square due to the increased security measures it would require to prevent vandalism.

Lloyd鈥檚 of London chairman Bruce Carnegie Brown, who said in July that the scheme would 鈥渞ob the City of a really important convening space鈥�, has not posted an objection to the revised proposals.

Since the scheme鈥檚 deferral, the project team has undertaken a series of consultations with stakeholders including Lloyd鈥檚 of London and the grade I-listed St Helen鈥檚 Church which sits behind the square.

The version of the proposals presented to the planning committee in July was itself a revised version of an earlier version of the scheme submitted in January, which followed a radically different scheme for the site known as 鈥淭he Trellis鈥� which was approved in 2016 but never started.

If the City approves the latest version of the plans they will then head to the Greater London Authority for further assessment and finally to secretary of state Angela Rayner for final sign off.

The consultant team for the project includes WSP as multi-disciplinary engineer, Aecom on costs, DP9 on planning, FMDC on facades, David Bonnett Associates on accessibility, Tavernor Consultancy on townscape and Space Syntax on urban design.