As of December 2022 there are 148 habitable buildings (used for living and working in, as opposed to masts and religious use) in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

at least tall, 117 of them in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, 15 in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...

, 5 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, 3 in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

, 2 each in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

and

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, and 1 each in

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

and

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

(the only such structure outside England).

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London, is currently the tallest completed building in the UK and was the tallest in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

until the UK's departure in January 2020; it was topped out at a height of in March 2012, inaugurated in July 2012 and opened to the public in February 2013. The UK had not been noted historically for its abundance of

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...

s, with the taller structures throughout the country tending to be

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

spires and industrial

chimneys A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...

. In London, high-rise development is restricted at certain sites if it would obstruct

protected view A protected view or protected vista is the legal requirement within urban planning to preserve the view of a specific place or historic building from another location. The effect of a protected view is to limit the height of new buildings within o ...

s of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

and other historic buildings. This protective policy, known as 'St Paul’s Heights', has been in operation by the City of London since 1937. Despite this, since the early 21st century, the number of high-rise buildings in

has grown significantly. The UK's tallest office buildings are located in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

and the capital's secondary business district of

Canary Wharf Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lon ...

. The five tallest are

22 Bishopsgate 22 Bishopsgate, also known as Twentytwo, is a commercial skyscraper in London, England. Completed in 2020, it occupies a prominent site in Bishopsgate, in the City of London financial district, and stands at tall with 62 storeys. The project ...

(278 m),

One Canada Square One Canada Square is a skyscraper in Canary Wharf, London. It was completed in 1991 and is the third tallest building in the United Kingdom at above ground levelAviation charts issued by the Civil Aviation Authority containing 50 storeys. O ...

(235 m), 110 Bishopsgate (230 m),

122 Leadenhall Street 122 Leadenhall Street, which is also known as the Leadenhall Building, is a skyscraper in central London. It opened in July 2014 and was designed by the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; it is known informally as The Cheesegrater because of its ...

(225 m) and 8 Bishopsgate (204 m). The five tallest residential buildings in the UK are London's Landmark Pinnacle (233 m),

Newfoundland Quay The Newfoundland is a residential skyscraper, located between Westferry Road and Bank Street on the Isle of Dogs, London. South Quay Properties, Ltd., a subsidiary of Canary Wharf Group, submitted a planning application to Tower Hamlets Th ...

(220 m), Valiant Tower (215 m),

One Park Drive One Park Drive is a residential skyscraper situated in the south west corner of Wood Wharf, within the Canary Wharf development on the Isle of Dogs, London. The building was designed by Herzog & de Meuron Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd.,

(205 m), and Manchester's

Deansgate Square Deansgate Square, formerly known as Owen Street, is a skyscraper cluster on the southern edge of Manchester City Centre, consisting of four towers, the tallest of which is 201 metres (659 feet). The site is just south of Deansgate railway statio ...

(201 m). London,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and near neighbour

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

are the only UK cities with skyscrapers taller than , although

is set to join them with the 155-metre

Octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, w ...

currently under construction. Other UK cities with emerging high rise skylines or notable tall buildings include

, and

, while several others including

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

and

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

are planning to construct tall buildings in the future. As of December 2022, there are 40 habitable buildings at least tall under construction in the UK – 24 in London, 11 in Greater Manchester, 3 in Birmingham, and 1 each in Leeds and Sheffield.

Tallest existing buildings

This list includes topped out and completed buildings in the UK that stand at least tall. Architectural height is considered, so masts and other elements added after completion of building are not considered. ''Updated 5 December 2022''

Buildings above 100m

Tallest buildings under construction

This list ranks all under-construction buildings in the UK that will stand at least tall. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. ''Updated 9 December 2022''

Tallest approved buildings

This list ranks all approved for construction buildings in the UK that will stand at least tall. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. ''Currently updating'' This list ranks all buildings in the UK with outline planning approval that will stand at least tall. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. ''Currently updating''

Tallest proposed buildings

This list ranks some proposed buildings in the UK that, if built as planned, would stand at least tall. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. ''Currently updating''

Tallest demolished buildings

This list ranks all demolished and destroyed buildings in the UK that stood at least tall. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts.

Timeline of tallest buildings

This list ranks the tallest storied buildings in the UK throughout history, excluding free standing clock towers, church spires and other such structures.

Tallest existing buildings

Buildings above 100m

Tallest buildings under construction

Tallest approved buildings

Tallest proposed buildings

Tallest demolished buildings

Timeline of tallest buildings

Tallest buildings by city

Cities with tallest buildings

Cities with buildings >100m

Cities with buildings >100m (Under Construction)

See also

Notes

References