New plans for the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station have been criticised by a heritage charity as “perverse” as it argued the proposal “does not answer” concerns raised by objectors.
New plans for the station’s redevelopment have been drawn up after an initial proposal attracted thousands of objections due to its scale – including from conservationists such as the Victorian Society, while Historic England feared its impact on views of St Paul’s Cathedral.
The original proposal contained controversial plans to erect a 21-storey skyscraper on top of the station.
The new proposal outlines plans for a smaller alternative - a mixed-use tower block that is 11m shorter than the original plan, standing at 97m instead of 108m tall.
It will also be set back from the listed Andaz hotel - formerly the Great Eastern Hotel - rather than being built on top of the station’s frontage.
Network Rail is working with ACME on the plans, with a planning application due in the “next few months”.
Network Rail said the original 1864 station and its 1991 reconfiguration were “remarkable for their cathedral-like concourse and train shed, and the new concourse roof extends this language into the 21st century”.
But the Victorian Society has now released a statement saying it still opposes the plan, and "cannot accept that this is the best way forward".
Griff Rhys Jones, President of The Liverpool Street Station Campaign (LISSCA) and the Victorian Society, said in a statement: “Other London stations like King’s Cross and St Pancras have adapted to the twenty-first century.
“They revealed their original Railway Age splendour. It seems perverse that the proposals at Liverpool Street should still go in the opposite direction.
“Over 2,000 people objected to the previous scheme. This new scheme does not answer their justified concern.
“It is surely time for Network Rail to stop looking at this handsome station as a development site and to recognise it as the important and historic artefact that it is; one that works and can continue to work.
“Network Rail has a duty for improvements to be less intrusive, and to serve the passenger, not profit. Above all, they should not be seeking huge additions and causing damage to listed buildings as a means to achieve new services.”
Responding to these concerns, Network Rail said that its stations are “not artefacts...they’re working buildings”.
Network Rail says Liverpool Street - Britain’s busiest station - requires “significant improvement” and that it hopes the new plan could help it “handle the demands of the future”.
"We’re disappointed that following our meetings with the Victorian Society, they don’t currently appear to recognise the substantial beneficial changes that we have made to the design. We would encourage them to continue their dialogue with us,” said a spokesperson in a statement to the BBC.
"We listened to concerns from the previous application; we’ve reduced the height of the structure, and our plans no longer interfere with the Grade II-listed former Great Eastern Hotel.
"And the new office building is the way of funding these station improvements."
"Our stations are not artefacts,” it continued. “We want to invest in them, for them to be used and enjoyed by all.
"They’re working buildings, responsible for transporting over 700m people each year for work, to visit family and friends, and to travel."
Robin Dobson, group property director at Network Rail Property, previously said: "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.”
The new plans are being led by Network Rail rather than property firm Sellar, which promoted the first scheme in partnership with Network Rail and the Hyatt hotel group.
They focus on increasing the size of the station’s concourse and its Tube ticket hall, both of which are frequently hit with overcrowding. There will also be improved step-free access to all mainline raila nd Tube platforms.
The departures board which hangs across the concourse will also be removed, and replaced with a row of smaller boards over each platform entrance.
Friedrich Ludewig, founding director at ACME, previously said: "We are delighted to be part of this monumental design challenge to create a world-class transport gateway in the City of London.
“Working with Network Rail Property, we are creating a transport hub that will work for the city and all Londoners. The 1990s saw a few stations such as Victoria, Cannon Street and Charing Cross compromised by over-station development.
“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.”
