Developers seeking to build a 16-storey tower block on top of Liverpool Street station have insisted their plans will not harm the historic mainline station.
They said concerns from conservation groups that the £1.5bn scheme would “trample” over the Victorian station and block views of St Paul’s Cathedral were based on “misconceptions and misunderstandings”.
Sellar, the firm that built the Shard at London Bridge, and Elizabeth line operator MTR UK want to build a 10-storey office block, topped by a six-storey hotel - the relocated Andaz currently occupying the former Great Eastern hotel - with the lure of £450m of capacity improvements to the station in return.
The 10-storey office block is claimed to have the largest “floor-plate” - or open-plan workspace - in the Square Mile, at 70,000 sq ft.
The developers say the redevelopment of Liverpool Street station will be similar to the radical transformation achieved at St Pancras and make it a destination in its own right.
A two-day exhibition, outlining the transport improvements, opened on Tuesday at the Andaz. A second exhibition will be held early next year focusing on the tower block.
James Sellar, chief executive of Sellar, said he was confident the proposal would secure planning permission despite an initial hostile response. “It’s got a touch of Victorian ambition about it,” he told the Evening Standard.
He said Liverpool Street station was a “pretty woeful experience today”, and said its redevelopment - which is not scheduled to begin until mid-2025 - would attract more people back to the office.
“There is no reason, that I can see, why London wouldn’t want to embrace the opportunity.”
The Victorian hotel building would be retained but converted into a public space and work area, with the Andaz moving to top the development - which would stand 21 storeys tall.
Images revealed on Tuesday by the developers, showing the tower block in “ghost” form, suggest it would be wider but not as tall as neighbouring skyscrapers.
The Wetherspoons pub, Hamilton Hall, would be redesigned. An “upper level” walking route connecting Liverpool Street - which would be pedestrianised - and Exchange Square, at the northern end of the train shed, would be created.
The Kindertransport memorial, currently a “place where you put used McDonald’s cups”, would be relocated to form a centrepiece inside the station. Seven lifts would be installed to enable step-free access to trains. There is only one at present.
The bus station on the western side of the station would be expanded. Many more ticket barriers would be added to prevent current problems with crowding, especially when packed trains arrive in the station.
Network Rail owns the station and supports the plans, which first emerged last month. Robin Dobson, its property director, said: “There is a huge positive story around the heritage here.”
Steve Murphy, chief executive of MTR UK, said: “We are returning to a grand station entrance. Not one train will be cancelled because of the construction. Not a single Victorian bolt is being touched by this scheme.”
Barry Ostle, executive director of development and planning at Sellar, said: “This is a major civic quality development. This is not in any way what I would call a cosmetic uplift.
“We don’t touch the Victorian train shed. We are opening up the view lines so it can be celebrated. It’s almost a cathedral you can’t see.
“They said we wanted to knock five bells out of the hotel, which is completely untrue. The predominant philosophy is to massively enhance the scale of the concourse.”
Henrietta Billings, director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, said: “Liverpool Street station was the centre of a huge conservation battle in the 1970s and 50 years later we find ourselves potentially facing another one.
“We remain deeply concerned about the impact that the redevelopment plans and 16-storey tower would have on the listed station buildings and former Great Eastern Hotel, as well as the wider conservation area which is designed to protect the City from exactly this type of overwhelming development.
“Sellar claims public benefits in terms of station upgrades to justify the proposals – but these appear to us to be minor compared to the massive impact that the proposed office block would have on the special character of these buildings and this part of the City. If the proposals are submitted in their current form, we will vigorously oppose them.”
