Liverpool Street station redesign changed after outcry

Thousands of objections greeted Network Rail’s initial plans to revamp the station last year, which included building a 20-storey office block over the adjoining Grade II*-listed former Great Eastern Hotel.

Some branded the proposals “ugly” and “unsympathetic to the city’s heritage”, with the likes of Stephen Fry and artist Tracey Emin speaking out against them.

It has now been revealed that Network Rail will work with a new developer called ACME on updated plans for the station after listening to heritage organisations.

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Previous plans (pictured) were slammed by heritage groups (Image: Sellar)

The new office building remains in the design, as it will ultimately fund the development of the station at street level, but is now set back from the Great Eastern Hotel.

Network Rail has said the block’s green roof is now “carefully stepped” to respect protected views to St Paul’s Cathedral, and at its highest point is 11 metres smaller.

The scheme will still stand at around the same height as Big Ben, and the new building remains above the station concourse, which is larger than in the previous plans.

Designers have also enlarged the Transport for London (TfL) ticket hall, and proposals include step-free access to all of the station’s platforms, including from seven new lifts.

The number of escalators at the station will be increased from four to eight, and new entrances created in Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate and Exchange Square.

The developer has promised to minimise changes to the 1980s station roof, although parts above the concourse will be replaced.

A 19th century roof above the platforms will be preserved in full.

The station concourse is further expanded in the updated plans (Image: Network Rail)

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Robin Dobson, group property director at Network Rail Property, 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.”

Friedrich Ludewig, founding director of ACME, added that the developer will “retain the sense of a tall and airy concourse”, despite the office block above.

Liverpool Street station was first built in 1864, before being reconfigured in 1991. It is Britain’s busiest station, with some 80 million journeys being made through the hub each year.