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Drivers 'Blinded' By £35million 'Giant Mirror' After Winter Sun Reflects Off Hotel

Drivers 'Blinded' By £35million 'Giant Mirror' After Winter Sun Reflects Off Hotel

Hotel La Tour in Milton Keynes has 14-storeys and some local residents want the architects to install anti-glare measures

Anonymous

Anonymous

A brand new £35m hotel in Milton Keynes is reportedly dazzling drivers and local residents with its polished steel front.

The futuristic 14-storey, 261-room Hotel La Tour with a front wall like a massive mirror has only recently been built.

But residents are complaining that the low winter sun reflecting off the steel is dazzling anyone driving or walking towards it.

Photos make the building look like a giant outdoor heater - perfect for winter evenings in the pub garden.

SWNS

Some residents have not received the building in such a positive light and are now suggesting its owner installs anti-glare measures to save their eyes.

They have likened the building to London's 'Walkie-Talkie' skyscraper - the Fenchurch Building - which was fitted with a giant sunshade after a similar problem emerged.

One Milton Keynes resident wrote on social media: "Anybody else being blinded by the new hotel in the mornings, between Neath Hill and Linford Wood?

"Don't think the architects took into consideration the potential effects that a giant mirror could have a mile away."

She said she noticed it when the winter sun was low.

She said: "It just means you have an extra glare to deal with.

"Putting your sun visor down doesn't help."

An artist impression of the finished hotel
An artist impression of the finished hotel

Another added: "Accident waiting to happen."

A spokesman from the company that designed the building, PHP Architects, said they would consider the complaints.

He said: "After an extensive planning process, as well as public consultations and workshops, the exterior was developed to incorporate a polished stainless-steel façade to reference other iconic Milton Keynes buildings such as The Point, Centre:MK shopping mall and Milton Keynes Central Station, as well as features seen in Campbell Park."

He highlighted the building differed to 20 Fenchurch Street, which had a concaved glazed façade that concentrated focussed sunlight into a smaller area.

He said: "Hotel La Tour's façade is not designed in this way and in contrast has a vertical façade with flat cladding panels.

"However, we always consider all local feedback and will be looking into the comments further."

When Milton Keynes was first made a new town in January 1967, planning guidance said no building was allowed to be taller than the tallest tree.

This was later changed when the Milton Keynes Partnership decided the town needed landmark buildings and elevated the allowed height.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: UK News