Two floors have been lopped off plans for a new tower block by the River Thames after a warning that Greenwich town centre could lose its status as a world heritage site.

The property giant Criterion Capital had hoped to build a 35-storey block with twin 23-storey towers at Enderby Wharf. 

Plans were deferred by Greenwich Council’s planning board in May after the head of the body in charge of the world heritage site warned that the development could harm the area’s appeal to tourists. 

Of the five councillors present to vote, only one said they could support the scheme – named Enderby Place – as it stood.

Peter Marsden, the head of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site Executive, said that the tourist quarter generated £850 million in revenue each year and “we are keen to ensure that everything possible is done to maintain the outstanding universal value of Maritime Greenwich and its world heritage designation”. 

The charity that runs Greenwich Park also filed an objection.

While other tall towers have been approved in the area, it was suggested that the Enderby blocks should be smaller than the 36-storey tower already approved for Morden Wharf next door.

Marsden suggested that two floors be taken off the main tower at Enderby Place, as the development be called, and a floor be added to the twin towers next to it.

Criterion agreed to look again at the scheme, and has now revised it as Marsden suggested, with the main River Block now at 33 storeys and the twin . The new plans have been published on the Greenwich Council planning website.

The development would still contain 564 homes, with 20 per cent for social rent and 12 per cent for shared ownership.

East Greenwich councillor Rowshan Hannan, who had objected to the scheme, said at the meeting in May there was a risk that Greenwich could follow Liverpool in losing its world heritage site status because of overdevelopment. 

“This is not just a meaningless threat that keeps getting mentioned, but a real possibility for us in Greenwich to also lose that status given the similar path we are on with our development,” she said.

Last week it was revealed that Unesco, the United Nations body that awards the status, was investigating plans for new buildings close to the Tower of London, which is also a world heritage site, after concerns were raised about the City of London’s development policies.

Greenwich’s planning board is likely to make a decision on the revised plans for Enderby Place later this year.

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