Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
“Oversized and insensitive” plans for a £1.5bn redevelopment of London Liverpool Street have been dropped in favour of a scaled-back project that protects more of the Victorian features at the UK’s busiest railway station.
Network Rail, the public body that owns and operates Britain’s railway infrastructure, said on Monday it had launched a new plan for the revamp after “listening to a broad range of views” on its 2023 proposal.
That plan involved demolishing parts of the existing station, which connects more than 100mn passengers a year, and building a 108-metre tower above it and the abutting Great Eastern Hotel. Both the station and the hotel are listed buildings.
The original plan by property company Sellar — which developed the Shard, London’s tallest building, and nearby London Bridge railway station — promised to enable £450mn of station upgrades at Liverpool Street through the construction of 960,000 square feet of hotel and office space.
The plans were strongly criticised by heritage groups, which balked at the scale of the changes to the original station, built in 1875, and the character of the local area.
Historic England said the project set out “oversized and insensitive proposals” and was “grossly disproportionate”, while more than 2,000 people complained in a public consultation.
The new plan outlined by Network Rail involves a 97-metre tall office building to be built above the concourse, revenue from which will be needed to fund improvements at Liverpool Street.
But the public body said the building would be “sufficiently set back from the Great Eastern Hotel so as not to dominate it in the way it did before”, and would preserve more heritage features.
Robin Dobson, group property director at Network Rail Property, said: “We’ve spent time talking and listening: our latest plans celebrate Victorian features including the original train shed and the Great Eastern Hotel.”
Sellar and original architects Herzog & de Meuron are no longer involved in the project, which is now being led by Network Rail’s property arm and architects ACME.
Regardless of design, railway industry officials agree Liverpool Street station needs to be redeveloped. Passenger numbers are forecast to grow to more than 140mn a year by 2050.
The new plans, whose cost has not been specified, will increase the size of the concourse, add more step-free access and create more space for passengers inside.
Sellar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
