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What's the rumour rating? the rumour-monger raters all rumours to help you sniff which are bullsh*t and which might just be true. The greener it is, the more reliable. What's the tick? Once the story is confirmed we tick it so you can be the judge of just how accurate this place is.

Welcome to our new column where you can find out all the not-necessarily true rumours, wishful thinking, complete speculation and even disinformation that we've taken from a vast number of different sources. Don't believe that everything of what you read here is true, although some of it is a lot of it will turn out to be nothing more than rumours but then that's the whole point of this place. So without further ado let's begin...

• Could Edinburgh be the next British city to join the skyscraper boom? We hear that as well as MAKE working on a project there there's plans for several other major towers in Leith as tall as 140m. Thanks to the relatively distant neighbouring airport they should be able to go higher than other cities with just enough to make that extra difference in height but will the Cockburn Association, a local heritage organisation put dampener on the scottish capital's plans to reach for the sky?
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• Our informants tell us that Elphinstone Place in Glasgow, designed by Coopar Crommar, is currently being redesigned for the umpteenth time.
  The cladding has changed to turquoise from blue whilst the sheath of glass that clad the original has been removed. Much thought has been given to the atrium with it heavily based on Fosters Tower Place in London. Its been described as the "Emerald City" from a distance by one source. More interestingly other midrises are being explored for the area now, could Glasgow be finally get something of a cluster and will this design change have more luck this time around?
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• Manchesters Salford Quays may well be continuing with its penchant for new towers. Rumours are flying that local architects Fairhusrst, are planning fournew towers for the area. Word is that two of the towers are in the 40-50 storey bracket flanked by two shorter ones. We also understand that the project will see the towers follow a sail design to keep in touch with the nauctical background of the local area.
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• Criterion Place, Leeds, looks like it could be in for a boost in height. Our spies tell us that the engineers working on the project are looking at a number of options for how to build it, one of which includes a larger type of beam that can increase the height of the tallest tower by the equivalent of another two floors. By our calculations that's almost another 7 meters in height.
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• If there's a regional city that doesn't have one, you can bet these days the tower builders Beetham will be linked to it. They were rumoured to be interested in Criterion Place in Leeds which is now taken and we understand they are looking at a number of sites. The latest going through the rumour cycle is a tower of an unknown height for next year to go up in the Harewood Quarter, slap-bang in the middle of the sort of prime location Beetham seem to like.
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• Construction in the City office market continues to look on the up with murmurings of a midrise tower for Blackfrairs Road in Southwark by Landsec designed by Wilkinson Eyre.
  We also believe that Landsec are working on a major scheme with Richard Rogers Partnership for an upcoming development in the City, and SOM are designing a tower to stand on Lime Street in the area that is becoming the epicenter of the new London skyline.
  Also, it looks like a reasonably tall residential development is going to be proposed for the Isle of Dogs following the approval of Columbus Tower within the next few months, perhaps the tipping point they needed there. With flight paths now diverted from the north of the Estate height restrictions are no longer such an issue.
  Many contractors in the business have reported that things are hotting up substantially with the number of projects in preplanning going hyper. The upturn has been detectable since the end of last year and shows no sign of abating, it's a clear sign of much to come through officially in the next year.
  Interesting times as it's the first property cycle for London we are going through not constricted by the past draconian planning laws, looks like the future is finally coming.
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• The rumours are reaching fever pitch about what looks like a possible spate of lettings in the City of London following the Willis Group's signing up for the Foster designed tower off Lime Street.
  Amongst those talked about is 600,000sq feet of space required by Royal Bank of Scotland for the City Fringe or Southwark to get in early before the market rises to secure lower rents for a future move.
  Aon are rumoured to be looking at a lease on the Minerva Building, whilst Lloyds TSB are said to be wanting to take up 122 Leadenhall Street, and PriceWaterhouse Coopers are interested in London Bridge Tower.
  To further add to the confusion of who is going where Minerva have announced they are going to start groundwork on their tower in November 2004 with construction beginning in April 2005.
  If Aon, PWC, and Lloyds do take these, RBoS isn't left with many options, the alternative is a bidding war between companies as they scramble to occupy these new landmarks which isn't in anyone's interest.
  110 Bishopsgate and 201 Bishopsgate are about the only available properties in the pipe-line they could take that can come online in time but with 201 supposedly set for a design review that will see it's stumpy look revised upwards to 30 floors that leaves only 110 Bishopsgate which is an ideal size and is to be built speculatively anyway as soon as the site is vacated.
  Perhaps by the end of the year we'll see every active tall building (over 500ft) for the City and Southwark filled up and under construction or just about to start.
  Interesting times indeed if youre a out to let a tall building.
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• British Land's planned cheesegrater skyscraper for 122 Leadenhall could be set for a 2005 start. Following the lease of Lime Street to the Willis Group and what's believed to be the immenient lease of 201 Bishopsgate to Norton Rose, combined with their chairman's insistence that they build speculative space starting in the next 12 months to accomodate future demand in the City the next building on the cards is the this one. Twice as tall as Lime Street but with approximately the same amount of space will it be hot on the heels of the similarly tall rival Minerva Building?
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• How pissed off would you be if you'd battled through hell and high-water, milions of legal bills and public inquiry to build a skyscraper so it would be ready for expected property upturn of 2005 only to have construction prevented by an occupier who doesn't want to move. By the time they do move your rival companies have already started taller more impressive buildings in the same area thanks to the legal precedent you'd set almost 2 years before.
  Admittedly Gerald Ronson got a consolation prize with his planned neighbouring mid-rise slated to start at the same time, but the Rumour Monger can only laugh at how pissed they must be. 110 Bishopsgate is proof the business world isn't always fair and isn't expected to see any work on site until the beginning of 2005.
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• Could Swansea be set to get another x2 100m tall towers sparking a building race between itself and the Welsh capital, Cardiff? Sources tell us that following the application of a 110m tall tower by the Earthquake Group for Swansea Marina the council expects to see two more similar sized projects before the year is out.
  Of course the NIMBYs are going mad, but that's to be expected given the lack of anything tall built in the city for over 25 years.
  Most interstingly this expected flock of towers puts the much larger Cardiff to shame and creates a new catalyst for a rivalry that has stretched back hundreds of years. It can only be a matter of time before developers in Cardiff egged on by the council fire their shots back following this and the success of the Altolusso.
  Oh, and wouldn't it be wonderful if the Earthquake Group built a tower in San Francisco? It would certainly put Death Cigarettes to shame in the tempting fate stakes.
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• We hear New Fetter Lane in London looks set to get a new midrise following plans to build a whopping 98,700 sq m of office space on a single plot. Obviously given the location something really tall isn't suitable for the area but this looks set to be the single largest development built in the City for a long while. More information on this story as we hear it.
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• It's clear that Arena Central is finally back from the dead, three years after planning permission was granted to what then was set to be a 245m tall tower.
  Word from the grapevine on the project is it looks increasingly likely that there will be a tower on this site, itll be surprising if it is 800ft tall, but you can bet itll be taller than the Beetham tower in Manchester by just a smidgeon.
  It'll be largely residential with an office element and some retail at the bottom. investors looking enviously towards HCT which went ahead despite sept 11th although at a reduced height (because of other issues) realise that they might have been too cautious and that they can make BIG BIG money on this project if they stick to their guns.
  An all office tower though will not happen. Birmingham's market cannot support it. To throw in over 1 million square feet worth of office space in brum is an enormous amount, particularly in the current climate where it could rely on a speculative build before planning permission runs out which is a gamble too far. It should have a considerable amount of office space though, the council are already planning for this to come onstream and delay their planned towers at Masshouse because of a future potential glut. This can only happen if Arena Central is built.
  For the tower to go ahead they need to make it largely residential. the profit margins on such a tower would be huge, consider the amount they could sell the penthouses for and theyd have the kudos of having the "largest residential tower" which guarantees them media exposure and almost instant sell-out. The catch is to do this they'll have to reapply for planning permission. The existing permission though makes it much easier to achieve planning permission.
  Time will tell eh?
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• Is the London Borough of Brent, which contains Wembley, the next one in line to get skyscrapers? Roder Evans Associates have been hired to study the possibility of tall buildings around the new national stadium and Wembley Highroad. As if that isn't enough for the area, MGM are believed to planning a massive casino complex following their purchase of the Wembley Group.
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• The much predicted London residential boom looks like continuing thanks to a 600ft tall skyscraper being designed by BUJ architects with about 50 floors to go near the newly refurbished Empress State Building at Earls court. We understand the whole thing is still very much a work in progress but hopefully something will officially be announced next year.
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• Could Sheffield be getting a new leisure and entertainment complex to make it the Las Vegas of the North? We've heard murmurings of two rival designs one backed by MGM and the other by a group of British developers with cost estimates ranging from £300 million upwards. Plans include a new casino, a 130m tall hotel, and a 150m tall observation tower set at that height because the designer liked a nice round number. Don't you love the logic?
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• Following their ever growing portfolio of buildings in other major cities in the country could Beetham be planning a residential to catch on to the current building boom in Sheffield. We've heard murmurings Ian Simpson has been design a 20 floor tower and the logical client would be Beetham giving a well needed boost of prestige to the city.
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• Locals in the Isle of Dogs are claiming that the 51 floor Crossharbour Tower may well be cancelled as the developers change their plans again. The London Arena site has been frought with disagreements with locals who seem a lot more fussy over this development than neighbouring ones. We're sure something will be built on this site that's tall but it seems the current policy of building towers for the next to some of the poorest areas is creating a whole raft of planning problems thanks to the resentment caused by the construction of new projects that are percieved as exclusive developments for the rich. Alas no-one seems to tell them about Ken's guide-lines on affordable housing.
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• After much lagging they are whispering that the public inquiry for London Bridge Tower will (finally) have it's results announced next month. Our source tells us this is only a provisional date, and thanks to the speed that Whitehall runs it could easily be pushed back. The Deputy Prime Minister however isn't on holiday so the publication of the report should be unaffected by the current parliamentary break. Let's keep our fingers crossed for a positive result.
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• The rumours are continuing to fly about Sheffield, could Broadway Malayan be working on a second taller proposal at 28-30 floors that is within a hairs breadth of being submitted and Ian Simpson also be working on something tall? Given the current flood of proposals for the place we wouldn't be surprised.
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• We've heard that the plans to sell Dollar Bay have run into hassle following a particularly annoying resident upping his demands from any potential developers which is scaring them off by asking over three times as much as everyone else. A number of developers have approached residents with interest but development doesn't look likely at this point, not least because any tower in the area would look directly over peoples gardens making planning permission harder to find - maybe in the future our source says, but not now.
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• People are whispering that Murphy Jahn may be pulling out of the planned skyscraper at 6-8 Bishopsgate in the City frustrated with the constant criticism their plans have recieved. They've been attacked by English Heritage and the Evening Standard pretty much constanly since the plans leaked out, and now we're told they are frustrated with C.A.B.E who are said to have serious reservations about the top and bottom of the tower. They should bare in mind C.A.B.E are normally critical about most towers crown and base whether it was London Bridge Tower or St Georges Wharf and try and stay the course. If all architects pulled out of London projects at the first sign of trouble we'd never have anything built.
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• The Rumour Monger has heard word of a new development on Southquay. It appears that a developer has approached residents of Dollar Bay with the idea of buying them out to redevelop the site.
  Also on the Isle of Dog's we've been hearing chatter about a 100m tall residential to go to the immediate West of Arrowhead Quay. We won't name the architect right now as the land hasn't been purchased by the developer yet but it seems that the number of projects in this area know no bounds.
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• British Land's Lime Street skyscraper could get a neighbour. Rumour has it that an unnamed developer who at the moment is very much small time has been buying up tracts of land buying up sites in one of the blocks near Fenchurch St, Fenchurch Ave, Billiter St, and Lime St. Our source tells us it'll be hard work fitting anything over 30,000sq meters, or roughly 300,000sq feet but lets not discount architectural creativity and the ability to build tall.
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• Skyhouse might just be on the cards now having finally found a viable site. Despite the media relaunch some people were sceptical but we here that they have found a likely site directly south of Heron Quays West which in SN.com's opinion is perfect so expect a coming announcement in the coming months.
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• Glasgow, the UKs third largest City which has dropped back substantially in development when compared to English cities might just get some new major developments afterall and despite SN.com's well known scepticism. A 30+ floor project is rumoured to be going near the Hilton despite the council not having recieved any plans and Glasgow Harbour's plans may have a highrise option that includes a couple of 130m towers, a World Trade Centre and a few other tall buildings. We shall have to wait and see.
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• Could the new Sheffield proposal at Chesham House be growing? We've heard word that the height of the building is steadily increasing as the architect are convincing the developer to get more density onto the site by building taller and taller having grown twice in the past few weeks. Supposedly the building in it's latest redesign has reached 85m. It'd be nice to get 100m for the final height? Also we have heard word of a number of surrounding towers to anchor the site. Looks like Sheffield might finally get its own cluster.
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• Word has it that Sheffield is about to undergo a building boom to rival that which Manchester has experienced over the past five years. West Street has already seen a 9 floor residential go up but we've heard word of a 200ft+ residential building that will be the city's new tallest tower - which isnt as difficult as you'd think when you consider that the current tallest the Arts Tower is sinking. We understand a number of practises in Sheffield are working on similar projects.
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• Is Manchester finally going to get a new tallest? News has emerged that Will Alsop's Urban Splash regeneration project to provide 1400 new homes in a run down area of East Manchester will go ahead but there's been no mention of the tower so far. At a foot shorter than 450 with 30floors, rumour has it that this will be going ahead as part of the growing trend in Manchester to high-rise living and to provide a focal point for what will be one of the U.Ks most avante garde housing developments.
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• It seems that the City fringe is destined for several large towers in the medium term with KPF and Farrell both rumoured to be working on big projects in the area as well as a rumoured Royal Bank of Scotland tower on a campus in Bishopsgate. The expansion is expected to head east towards Hackney though, with the rumoured designs for Bishopsgate Goodsyard only being midrise because of viewing lines with cut the site up, plus the further complications of listed arches. This movement of the City to the east is hardly surprising though, Tower Hamlets have designated the area as a central development zone which ranks it alongside Canary Wharf in terms of importance, this coupled with the creation of new transport links in neighbouring Hackney make the City fringe