Interior architecture practice Tibbatts Abel has submitted plans to build a temporary restaurant on the roof of the Royal Festival Hall.

The proposal, the latest in the expanding chain of Pergola roof bars, has triggered an uproar among conservationists who object to the “shocking and insensitive” way it would conceal the projecting curved roof of the grade I building.

The application to Lambeth council comes just weeks after the Southbank Centre was criticised for applying for a certificate of immunity from listing for the neighbouring Hayward Gallery and Queen Elizabeth Hall – after they were turned down for protection for the fourth time.

…