List of tallest buildings in the United Kingdom facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This page is about the tallest skyscrapers in the United Kingdom. For the tallest structures in general, see List of tallest structures in the United Kingdom.

The Shard is the tallest building in the UK.

The United Kingdom is home to many impressive tall buildings, especially in recent years. As of early 2024, there are 155 buildings that people can live or work in that are at least 100 meters (about 328 feet) tall. Most of these are in London, with 118 buildings. Other cities like Greater Manchester (20), Birmingham (6), and Leeds (3) also have several tall structures. Swansea has the only one outside of England.

The very tallest building in the UK is The Shard in London. It stands at a huge 310 meters (1,016 feet) tall! It was finished in 2012 and opened to the public in 2013. Before 2020, it was also the tallest building in the European Union.

Historically, the UK wasn't known for its many skyscrapers. Taller structures used to be mostly cathedrals, church spires, or industrial chimneys. In London, there were even rules to protect views of famous buildings like St Paul's Cathedral. However, since the early 2000s, many new tall buildings have been built, especially in London.

The tallest office buildings are mainly in London's financial areas, like the City of London and Canary Wharf. Some of these include 22 Bishopsgate (278m) and One Canada Square (235m). For homes, the tallest residential buildings are also in London, like Landmark Pinnacle (233m), and one in Manchester, Deansgate Square South Tower (201m).

Only London, Manchester, and Salford have skyscrapers taller than 150 meters (about 492 feet). Birmingham is expected to join this group soon with new buildings like Octagon and One Eastside under construction. Many other UK cities are also planning or building tall structures.

As of May 2023, there are 45 buildings over 100 meters tall being built across the UK. London has 25 of these, Greater Manchester has 12, and Birmingham has 7.

Tallest Existing Buildings in the UK
Tallest Buildings Under Construction
Tallest Approved Buildings
Tallest Proposed Buildings
Timeline of Tallest Buildings
Tallest Buildings by City
Cities with Many Tall Buildings
Images for kids
See also

Tallest Existing Buildings in the UK

This section lists the tallest buildings that are already finished in the UK. We measure their architectural height, which means we don't count things like antennas added after the building is done.

Rank	Name	City	Height (m)	Floors	Year Completed
1	The Shard	London	310	95	2012
2	22 Bishopsgate	London	278	62	2019
3	One Canada Square	London	235	50	1990
4	The Landmark Pinnacle	London	233	75	2020
5	110 Bishopsgate	London	230	47	2010
6	The Leadenhall Building	London	225	48	2013
7	Newfoundland	London	218	59	2020
8	Hampton Tower	London	215	68	2021
9	One Park Drive	London	205	57	2021
10	8 Bishopsgate	London	204	51	2022
11	Deansgate Square South Tower	Manchester	201	64	2018

Tallest Buildings Under Construction

This list shows buildings currently being built in the UK that will be at least 100 meters tall.

Rank	Name	City	Height (m)	Floors	Estimated Completion
1	Aspen at Consort Place	London	216	64	2023
2	South Quay Plaza 4 Residential	London	192	57	2023
3	40 Charter Street	London	187	53	2024
4	Vista River Garden Tower 1	Manchester	183	60	2026
5	Vista River Garden Tower 2	Manchester	169	55	2026
6	Two Station Hill	Reading	163
2026
7	50 Charter Street, Tower 2	London	161	49	2024
8	Halcyon London	London	158	49	2025
8	One Leadenhall	London	158	36	2025
9	Octagon	Birmingham	155	49	2025
10	One Eastside	Birmingham	155	51	2025

Tallest Approved Buildings

This list includes buildings that have been approved for construction and will be at least 100 meters tall.

Rank	Name	City	Height (m)	Floors	Year Approved
1	1 Undershaft	London	290	73	2016
2	55 Bishopsgate	London	269	63	2022
3	100 Leadenhall Street	London	247	56	2018
4	Spire London	London	235	67	2016
5	One Lansdowne, East Tower	London	228	68	2017
6	Ensign House	London	225	56	2022
7	4 Portal Way South Tower	London	203	55	2020
8	Vauxhall Cross South Tower	London	186	54	2020
9	18 Blackfriars Road Residential Tower	London	179	53	2017
10	One Heritage	Salford	173	55	2020

Tallest Proposed Buildings

This list shows some buildings that are planned but not yet approved for construction. If built, they would be at least 100 meters tall.

Rank	Name	City	Height (m)	Floors	Planning status
1	Viadux 2	Manchester	241	76	PA submitted April 2024
2	Regent Park Tower 1	Salford	232	70–75	Awaiting PA
3	Plot D	Manchester	213	71	PA submitted July 2023
4	One Park Place	London	190	60	Revised PA submitted 2022
5	SBQ 2	Birmingham	180	56	Hybrid PA submitted 2022
6	Boulton Tower	Birmingham	172	53	PA submitted 2021
6	Park Place East Tower	Manchester	172	56	PA submitted 2021
6	Park Place West Tower	Manchester	172	56	PA submitted 2021
9	Act One. Chung Ying Plaza	Birmingham	170	52	PA submitted 2022
9	One East Point	London	170	52	PA submitted 2022

Timeline of Tallest Buildings

This section shows which building was the tallest in the UK throughout history.

Name	City	Height (m)	Years as tallest
Victoria Tower	London	98.5	1860–1961 (102 years)
Shell Centre	London	107	1961–1962 (1 year)
CIS Tower	Manchester	118	1962–1963 (1 year)
Millbank Tower	London	118	1962–1964 (2 years)
BT Tower	London	177	1964–1977 (13 years)
Tower 42	London	183	1977–1990 (13 years)
One Canada Square	London	235	1990–2012 (22 years)
The Shard	London	310	2012–

Tallest Buildings by City

Here are some of the tallest buildings in different cities across the UK.

List of tallest buildings and structures in Belfast
(Three tallest buildings: Obel Tower 85m Windsor House 80m, Belfast City Hospital Tower 76m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Birmingham
(Three tallest structures: BT Tower (Birmingham) 140m, The Mercian 132m, 10 Holloway Circus 122m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Brighton and Hove
(Three tallest structures: British Airways i360 162m, Sussex Heights 102m, Chartwell Court 66m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Bristol
(Three tallest buildings: Castle Park View, 98m, St Mary Redcliffe 80m, Castlemead 80m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Cardiff
(Three tallest buildings: Bridge Street Exchange 85m, Capital Tower 80m, Stadium House 78m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Coventry
(Three tallest buildings: Coventry Cathedral 91m, CODE Coventry Student Accommodation 76m, Mercia House 68m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Edinburgh
(Three tallest buildings: Martello Court 64m, Citadel Court 59m, Persevere Court 59m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Glasgow
(Three tallest structures: Glasgow Tower 127m, Glasgow University Tower 85m, 15 Croftbank Street 74m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Leeds
(Three tallest buildings: Altus House 114m, Bridgewater Place 110m, Sky Plaza 106m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Leicester
(Three tallest buildings: Cardinal Telephone Exchange 84m, St George's Tower 82m, the Summit 67m plus National Space Centre ≈ 40m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Liverpool
(Three tallest buildings: West Tower 140m, Radio City Tower 125m, The Lexington 113m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in London
(Three tallest buildings: The Shard 310m, 22 Bishopsgate 278m, One Canada Square 235m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Manchester
(Three tallest buildings: Deansgate Square South Tower 201m, Beetham Tower 169m, Deansgate Square East Tower 158m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Newcastle upon Tyne
(Three tallest buildings: Hadrian's Tower 83m, Vale House 80m, Shieldfield House 77m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Nottingham
(Three tallest structures: Eastcroft Incinerator 91m, Victoria Centre Flats A 75m, Pine View 62m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Portsmouth
(Three tallest buildings: Spinnaker Tower 170m, East Side Plaza 101m, UNITE Portsmouth 73m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Salford
(Three tallest buildings: Cortland at Colliers Yard 153m, Anaconda Cut 131m, Affinity Living Riverside 110m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Sheffield
(Three tallest buildings: St Paul's Tower 101m, Arts Tower 78m, Royal Hallamshire Hospital 76m)

List of tallest buildings and structures in Southampton
(Three tallest buildings: Moresby Tower 80m, Millbrook Tower 73m, Canberra Towers 70m)

Tallest buildings and structures in Swansea
(Three tallest buildings: The Tower, Meridian Quay 107m, BT Tower (Swansea) 60m, Fusion Students Swansea 60m)

Tallest buildings and structures in Woking
(Three tallest buildings: Victoria Square Tower 1 117m, Victoria Square Tower 2 105m, Victoria Square Hilton Hotel 94m)

Cities with Many Tall Buildings

This table shows how many buildings over 100 meters tall each city has.

County	City/Borough	Total Buildings ≥100m
Greater London	City of London	26
Greater London	Tower Hamlets	33
Greater London	Wandsworth	7
Greater London	Lambeth	6
Greater London	Southwark	9
Greater London	Other London Boroughs	36
Greater Manchester	Manchester	15
Greater Manchester	Salford	5
West Midlands	Birmingham	6
West Yorkshire	Leeds	3
Merseyside	Liverpool	2
Surrey	Woking	2
East Sussex	Brighton	1
Hampshire	Portsmouth	1
South Yorkshire	Sheffield	1
City and County of Swansea	Swansea	1