City of London planners are putting wooden skyscrapers on the horizonCity of London planning chiefs are considering allowing the construction of wooden “plush scrapers” as part of efforts to make the Square Mile more environmentally sustainable.Such structures, which utilize advances in wood-building technology to climb up to 280 feet and 18 storeys, are popular in countries such as Norway, Sweden and Singapore, but have struggled to gain favor in the UK.However, planners at the City of London Corporation, Square Miles’ local authority, are considering plans to ease the rules to encourage high-rise buildings made of wood, as developers seek to reduce their CO2 footprint by moving away from concrete and steel structures.Alastair Moss, chairman of the company’s planning and transport committee, said factors including environmental impact and fire safety would be considered as part of any new development.The committee and the planning department always considered the full environmental impact of a development before making a final decision on approval, he added.“Any scheme approved by the Planning and Transport Committee will be required to meet all fire safety requirements as set out in the 2010 Building Regulations, but this is a separate process.”Stuart Baillie, planning manager at real estate agent Knight Frank, said: “The concept of a wooden skyscraper is really interesting and it’s something we’ll have to think seriously about if we want to lower the CO2 footprint significantly. Tall buildings in the future.“In Australia, for example, 50- or 60-story buildings are built using this highly sustainable and cost-effective material, which raises the question: if so, why not here?” .