Responding to the report from the parliamentary Sub-Committee on Urban Affairs, Dame Judith Mayhew, Chairman of the Corporation of London's Policy and Resources Committee said: "So-called 'tall buildings' are a relatively small but essential part of what the City must offer international business. Providing a range of buildings, including some 40-50 storeys high, is crucial to the continued vitality of the City of London as a centre for international business-a major money-earner for the UK."

The City Corporation is actively promoting a cluster of tower buildings in an area about half a kilometre across, south of Liverpool Street Station and east of the Bank of England. The Swiss Re Tower on St Mary Axe is already under construction, and the steelwork is now more than two-thirds complete giving Londoners a first glimpse of the scale of the building. And earlier this year the government approved Heron's application for the Bishopsgate Tower.

Dame Judith said some international companies demanded the prestige attached to a landmark building and this could not be ignored if the City - and London generally - wanted to maintain its premier position. "Built well, as part of a proven and tested strategy, a small number of so-called "tall" buildings are essential to the continued success of the City and to London and the UK," she said.

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