Controversial plans for the redevelopment of London Liverpool Street railway station have been granted planning permission.
The City of London’s planning committee gave the green light on Tuesday to Network Rail’s proposals for the grade II-listed site.
The £1.2bn project includes the construction of a 97-metre (318ft) mixed-use tower block directly over the concourse of the UK’s busiest railway station.
Network Rail has insisted its plans respect the station’s “unique heritage”.
But actor Griff Rhys Jones, who is president of the Victorian Society and the Liverpool Street Station Campaign (Lissca), claimed it was a “sad day for the City of London”.
He said: “A disfiguring billion-pound office block on top of a major heritage asset is not essential to the City’s development plans.
“It is doubtful whether it will easily provide the profit to ‘improve’ the concourse, and can only realise a small amount of extra space for the passenger.
“Its focus is retail opportunities which the commuter doesn’t need.
“It will destroy an existing conservation area. It demolishes listed buildings. It is harmful to the surrounding historic fabric.”
Rhys Jones accused the City of London of having “bowed to developer ambitions, set a bad precedent for London and (ignored) the user”.
Lissca said it has “the backing of thousands of supporters” and will “now await the decisions of the Mayor of London and, if necessary, the secretary of state for Housing, Communities and Local Government”.
Network Rail said its plans include improvements such as:
- Increasing overall concourse capacity by 76 per cent
- Better passenger flow
- Step-free access from street level to all platforms, including London Underground lines
- More lifts and escalators
Ellie Burrows, managing director for Network Rail’s eastern region, said: “This decision represents a key step towards the transformation of Britain’s busiest station and marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Liverpool Street.
“Our plans focus on improving the everyday experience for passengers whilst respecting the station’s unique heritage.
“With annual passenger numbers forecast to grow to 158 million, this approval ensures the station will be future proofed for decades to come.”
Figures from regulator the Office of Rail and Road show the estimated number of entries and exits at Liverpool Street in the year to the end of March 2025 was 98.0 million.
