Network Rail revamps Liverpool Street Station plans

Network Rail Property has submitted updated plans for its proposed redevelopment of London’s Liverpool Street Station, removing contentious proposals for a 16-storey hotel above a Grade II listed building. The ACME-designed proposals still include plans for office space above the station, albeit at a reduced volume of 650,000 sq ft, as opposed to the previous plans for a 10-storey 800,000 sq ft block. This office block would also be stepped back to better reveal the Grade II-listed Andaz Hotel next to Liverpool Street Station. A spokesperson for Network Rail said the new plans were focused on ensuring the changes would be “independent from the Andaz”. They added that the new plans would also ensure any changes would be made without touching the Victorian roofs of the station, while simultaneously “celebrating” the extensions made to the roof in the 1990s. “We have embraced the challenge to design new entrances reflecting its position as the UK’s busiest train station, and roof structures that speak to the original 1875 structures and the 1990s extension,” said Friedrich Ludewig, founding director at ACME. “We are retaining the essential qualities of the existing station, celebrating elements that were previously hidden, creating sustainable new workplaces and providing spaces to expand into for generations to come. Liverpool Street station will become the world-class transport hub that the City of London and all Londoners deserve.“ Network Rail said the investment will be covered by private sector partnerships through the creation of new office space above the station, as well as through the addition of new retail within the station. Previous proposals had drawn the ire of notable figures, including actor Stephen Fry, artist Tracey Emin and three former presidents of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who objected to the proposals in 2023. In a letter to The Times, they wrote: “To plonk 15 storeys of insensitively designed tower directly on top of the Grade II* former Great Eastern Hotel… is grossly opportunistic and wrong… and sets a dangerous precedent.” As a result, the plans for the £1.5bn redevelopment of the station, which proposed the delivery of a 160,000 sq ft, 16-storey hotel and an 800,000 sq ft, 10-storey office block as part of the station’s redevelopment, were revised. A second consultation process was carried out last year, with almost 250,000 people engaging with the plans and more than 2,000 responding with comments. In addition to the changes to the office and hotel space included in the previous plans, the updated proposals also seek to address three issues which Network Rail says were priorities for the respondents to consultation process: Step-free access across the station; new lifts and escalators to make the mainline and underground stations more accessible; and new toilet facilities, including family-friendly spaces on every level of the station. Image supplied by Network Rail Property and ACME