London's free views come at a cost

Absurd situation

Or at least that should be the case, but London is now in the rather absurd situation of having so many towers clustered together that they start to get in each other's way, obscuring the very panoramas on offer.

"I don't think skyscrapers spoil the view, they create a new view and they're clustered together so they don't ruin it," said Mansfield. "But we are now in a situation where, by accident or design, they're starting to be on top of one another. We have a surplus.

"If someone can't get tickets for Horizon 22, I recommend the Lookout, which is literally next door and has 50 floors, as opposed to Horizon's 58. It's much easier to get into and the view is 95 percent the same.

"Currently there are plans for another skyscraper called One Undershaft, which is scheduled to be 74 stories high, and even taller than the Shard - and that will be one street away from Horizon 22 and the Lookout. It shows the ludicrousness of the situation."