Liverpool Street station: Thousands object to 'ugly' revamp plans

An artist's impression of the Liverpool Street station redevelopment

A £1.5bn redevelopment plan for Liverpool Street station has received more than 2,000 objections.

Westminster Council, Historic England and members of the public have objected to the plans, with some calling the proposals "ugly".

Property developer Sellar said the project would "help London to maintain its status as a world-class city - at no cost to passengers or the taxpayer".

Plans include the partial demolition of the Victorian station.

• Liverpool Street becomes Britain's busiest station

• Stephen Fry against London Liverpool Street plans

• Liverpool Street £1.5bn plan consultation begins

They also feature the construction of a 20-storey tower, cantilevered above the neighbouring Grade-II* former Great Eastern Hotel, new office and hotel space, and works to the station including more lifts and escalators.

Members of the public gave their thoughts about the project on the City of London's planning portal. To date, 2,154 of the posts were objections, with 29 in favour.

Last year Liverpool Street Station replaced Waterloo as the busiest in Britain, according to Office of Rail and Road data

One submission from Luke Christodoulou described the proposal as "ugly and uninspired", with designs that were "unsympathetic to the city's heritage".

Pascal Dubois-Pélerin said "architecturally the project is really a fist in the face," and "the whole thing makes a mockery of the existing buildings, particularly the listed ones, of the area, and of common sense in general".

Previously, the broadcaster Stephen Fry and artist Tracey Emin have also spoken out against the plans.

Other groups to object include Westminster City Council which complained about the potential impact on St Paul's Cathedral and the "strategic views as experienced from within Westminster".

'A terrible precedent'

One of the project's most vocal opponents has been the reformed Liverpool Street Station Campaign, which saved the site from demolition in the 1970s.

Marie Clements, spokesperson for The Victorian Society which chairs the group, said the plans for the 20-storey tower were "unprecedented over a Grade-II* listed building".

"The Victorian Society and 10 other amenity societies and heritage organisations believe that if these plans are approved it would set a terrible precedent which would mean that no listed building is safe from harm."

Sellar, along with its joint venture partners Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and Network Rail, argued that the station has not been redeveloped since the 1980s, and called it "well over capacity".

James Sellar, chief executive of Sellar, said: "In the context of the number of objections received, these should be balanced against the circa 130 million passenger journeys that would be improved should these essential upgrades to Liverpool Street station be approved.

"Our entire approach prioritises protecting and enhancing the historic elements of both the Great Eastern Hotel and of the station itself," he added.

The City of London Corporation said the exact date the project would be brought before its planning committee had not yet been decided, but it will happen "later this year".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]