Europe's tallest skyscraper to go-ahead in St Petersburg

Plans to build Europe’s largest skyscraper in St Petersburg are to go ahead, despite complaints that the building will jeopardize the cities status as a world heritage site.

The governor of St Petersburg, Valentina Matviyenko, gave the green light for the Okhta tower to be created despite meeting resistance from residents and Unesco.

The skyscraper has been designed by Scottish architects RMJM, and is expected to reach a height of 396m (1,229ft). The tower will include a music hall, an art museum and sports facilities, costing an estimated $3 billion, (£1.8 billion) in total to construct.

Previously the maximum height for buildings in St Petersburg was restricted to 100m, intending to preserve the architectural plan of Peter the Great in the Tsarist-era of the capital.

Speaking to the BBC, director of RMJM Peter Kettle said: "This is about doing something truly world class on the world stage and it is very positive for the city of St Petersburg.

"I was trying to capture the sense of the movement of the city, the river Neva and its buildings."

A representative for Unesco claims that the tower could place St Petersburg on the "World Heritage in danger" list for next year.

The project has been steeped in controversy since it first began in 2006, due to it’s associations with Russian power giant Gazprom Neft, which will host its headquarters in the tower. It is highly unlikely the plans to build the skyscraper will go unheeded, with the companies close ties to President Medvedev (former chair) and Vladimir Putin.

The building has already been nicknamed the "Corn on the cob" for the way it spirals in its design.

Watch a video of the skyscraper- http://bit.ly/YN8EF