An ‘ugly and uninspired’ proposal to revamp one of the UK’s most historic train stations has been scaled back and redrawn – following thousands of objections.
Ambitious plans to redevelop one of the UK’s most popular train station have been sent back to the drawing board.
Network Rail had been previously working Sellar – a property giant known for developing The Shard – on a £1.5 billion scheme to significantly revamp London’s Liverpool Street station (not to be confused with Liverpool Lime Street). Proposals submitted last year included a part demolition of the Victorian station, a controversial multi-storey tower cantilevered above the Grade II listed Andaz Hotel, to be used as offices.
But, the costly plans didn’t go down well with the public, with a staggering 2,154 objections being officially logged – opposed to 29 in favour. According to the BBC, one submission from Luke Christodoulou savagely described the proposal as ‘ugly and uninspired’, with designs that were ‘unsympathetic to the city’s heritage’. Historic England, the government’s statutory adviser on the historic environment, also joined in on the criticism – arguing the scale of the plan to the original 1875 station as ‘grossly disproportionate’.
However, it appears the furore paid off, as Network Rail Property has announced it has scaled down its plans and moved away from the ‘historic station frontage’. On a website for the scheme consultation, the company says its new plans would help ease congestion, make the station more accessible, and reduce queue times
It reported the new plans would be significantly cheaper to build, coming in a third less than its original £1.5bn projection. This will be achieved through a ‘more efficient construction programme’ which would avoid working on the listed hotel. Building.co.uk reports the over-station office tower ‘would also be reduced in size by three floors and contain around 650,000sq ft of floorspace, compared to the 800,000 sq ft building proposed by Sellar, and would no longer be cantilevered over the listed hotel’.
“The 1990s saw a few stations such as Victoria, Cannon Street and Charing Cross compromised by over-station development,” said Friedrich Ludewig of ACME – the architects working on the project. “At Liverpool Street, we will retain the sense of a tall and airy concourse, with a flexible workplace building above to fund the development of the station at street level.”
Robin Dobson, Group Property Director at Network Rail Property, added: “We’ve spent time talking and listening: our latest plans celebrate Victorian features including the original train shed and the Great Eastern Hotel. Network Rail Property is leading a new team with a new approach which will respect the station’s unique heritage – simple in design, embracing London’s mix of the old with the new.”
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