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Billionaire Safra Appeals London Mayor’s Block of Tulip Tower

Billionaire Safra Appeals London Mayor’s Block of Tulip Tower

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Joseph Safra is trying to resuscitate his plans for a 305-meter (1,000-foot) tulip-shaped skyscraper in London’s financial district after the city’s mayor torpedoed the proposal.

Safra and the architecture firm Foster + Partners have appealed Mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision, according to a filing. The U.K. Planning Inspectorate will consider the request, and the final ruling on the proposal for a slender tower topped with a glass dome will probably be made by Robert Jenrick, the secretary of state for housing and local government.

The City of London Corporation approved the project in April 2019, subject to Khan’s sign-off. The unorthodox plans include so-called gondola pods that loop around the outside of the building’s glass petals, according to the project’s website. The 12-story dome would also feature restaurants, bars, a viewing gallery and education spaces, with glass slides connecting some floors.

Khan rejected the plans on the grounds that they would affect the nearby Tower of London World Heritage Site. No date has been set for a decision on the appeal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Sidders in London at jsidders@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Chris Bourke

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