Plans to transform Liverpool Street station have been delayed again after the organisation behind the redevelopment added further details to the application.
Network Rail’s plan – to partially demolish Britain’s busiest station and build a multi-storey tower cantilevered above a neighbouring Grade II* listed former hotel – was due to be decided by the City of London Corporation by the end of the year.
The proposal was previously branded “a huge and unnecessary waste of resources” by conservationists who said it was “likely to be redundant on completion”.
Network Rail said it remained “committed” to the proposal and additional details would be available to view on the planning register”.
An original planning application was filed in May 2023, but it received more than 2,000 objections from the public, Westminster Council and Historic England.
Revised redevelopment plans were submitted to the City of London Corporation in April, with amendments including reducing the size of the office block above the station, realigning the building to avoid interfering with the site of the Great Eastern Hotel and redesigning station entrances.
More than 2,100 representations against the scheme have been submitted with over 1,000 also filed in support.
The Victorian Society previously said the “environmentally backward” plan should be rejected by the City of London planning committee.
Historic England, one of the key objectors to the original plans, has softened its stance, describing the application as a “significant improvement” despite an expected “high level of harm”.
The size of the tower above the station has been reduced to 19 storeys, realigning the building to avoid interfering with the Andaz Hotel, redesigning entrances, and landscaping and benches around the Kindertransport Statue.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said additional content on its planning application includes further analysis on transport matters following engagement with Transport for London and the City of London’s highways team.
