Heritage campaigners have branded the £1billion plan for Liverpool Street station, which includes a high-rise building from the developers of The Shard, as ‘insensitive and unnnecessary’.
Developers Sellar Property Group and Networks Rail plan to demolish parts of the grade II listed station, including 20th-century train sheds – these closely resemble the Victorian sheds which will remain.
The planning application, submitted to City of London, also includes proposals to build two high-rise buildings above the station and the neighbouring grade II listed Andaz hotel, formerly the Great Eastern hotel.
Designs by Herzog and de Meuron, the Swiss architects who designed Tate Modern, show a roof terrace with a wildflower meadow and swimming pool. Meanwhile, inside the tower would be a mixture of hotel rooms and offices.
The Victorian Society has concerns about the loss of the station’s architecture and said the plans ‘must be rejected’. The campaigners are concerned the approval of the plans could set a precedent for future redevelopments of other stations, such as Victoria and Waterloo.
The planning application for Liverpool Street Station’s redevelopment includes two high-rise buildings above the station
Heritage campaigners have branded the £1billion plan for Liverpool Street station as ‘insensitive and unnnecessary’
Pictured: Liverpool Street Station, London, 1926-1927
There are concerns the new 16-storey building will block natural light from reaching the Victorian train sheds.
The developers are set to spend £450million on ‘improving’ the station because it ‘suffers from siginificant overcrowding’ at peak times.
The station is used for mainline train connections to destinations across Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, as well as Elizabeth line and London Underground services.
The plans also state that the staion will be more accessible following the redevelopment, with a new public square offering a step-free route into the station.
If the application is approved, the concourse will be rebuilt, something that the developers said was necessary because the station’s is smaller than other terminals.
The Victorian Society is urging those opposed to the plans to submit their objections to the planning application publicly. The society has also set-up a JustGiving page which has raised more than £10,000 so far.
Griff Rhys Jones, president of the campaign to save the station and the Victorian Society, said: ‘It is unacceptable that Network Rail has ignored the 22,363 people who have signed the petition against the plans and the experts in the heritage and architecture sectors who say not to do this.
There are concerns the new 350ft building will block natural light from reaching the Victorian train sheds
Designs by Herzog and de Meuron, the Swiss architects who designed Tate Modern, show a roof terrace with a wildflower meadow and swimming pool
Site plan for the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station
The everyday hustle and bustle of London’s Liverpool Street Station on February 19, 1934
An estimated 135million people passed through Liverpool Street Station each year before the coronavirus pandemic
‘These plans are insensitive, unnecessary and traduce a famous gateway to London, a listed working part of our history. I know all the heritage bodies combined are appalled by the precedent it would set.
‘It must be rejected. We will fight to ensure that it is.
‘I urge the public to donate to our fundraiser to ensure we can match the developer’s deep pockets.’
Liverpool Street station opened in 1875 and is now one of London’s busiest. An estimated 135million people passed through it each year before the coronavirus pandemic.
It is also one of four railway stations which features on the British version of board game Monopoly.
Developers Sellar Property Group and Networks Rail are set to spend £450million on ‘improving’ the station
Developers Sellar Property Group and Networks Rail plan to demolish parts of the grade II listed station
Grade II listed Liverpool Street Station pictured in June 1921 – it opened in 1875
The planning application includes proposals to build two high-rise buildings above the station and the neighbouring grade II listed Andaz hotel (pictured), formerly the Great Eastern hotel
Network Rail said it had no immediate plans to develop Waterloo and Victoria stations, but said it is working on a masterplan of major London stations to ‘unlock infrastructure investment’.
The spokesperson added: Developing our stations as destinations in their own right with a customer focus, whilst making them better and bigger places for a growing and thriving railway is at the very heart of our business.’
A decision on the application is expected to be made by December 2023.