£1.5bn London Liverpool Street station plans lodged

Plans to transform Liverpool Street station to the tune of £1.5 billion have been submitted. 

Shard developer Sellar, transport operator MTR, and Network Rail have lodged a joint planning application with the City of London Corporation. 

Herzog & de Meuron designed the new transport hub, following several years of consultation. 

Liverpool Street is the busiest station in the UK by footfall, with up to 135 million people using the station and concourse annually. It was designed in the 1980s and the last upgrade was in the early 1990s. 

Full scope  

The plans include more than 1.5 acres of public realm in and around the main station building and Hope Square, as well as the pedestrianisation of Liverpool Street itself. 

£450 million in station upgrades will address ‘chronic accessibility, capacity and overcrowding issues’, including with a new station concourse, said Sellar. 

A six-storey hotel spanning around 160,000 sq ft will be built above the station, with conference space. It will be part of the Hyatt Andaz brand. Under previous plans, the Grade II Listed Victorian era Andaz hotel (40 Liverpool Street) was due for refurbishment and relocation to a five-storey block, to the tune of £100 million.   

The area above the existing 90s elements of the station will be further refurbished to create more than 800,000 sq ft of offices. The new offices address a ‘lack of modern Grade A space in the city’, said Sellar. Adding: “The project also sensitively protects and celebrates the station and hotel’s unique historic features.” 

Despite heritage groups fearing aspects of the Grade II Listed station being lost forever, Sellar said the Victorian railsheds will be restored and will not be touched or built over as part of this project. 

Other new features include a public rooftop garden with four-lane, 25m open air lido, heated by energy produced from the offices. A new Padel court, retail, and rooftop café are also proposed. 

Next steps 

Around £200 million in civils work is expected before main build starts, then climbing to around £600 million. Mace and Erith were said to be providing pre-construction advice on the scheme. 

The station will remain open and operational throughout all phases of construction. 

A decision by the City of London Corporation is expected in 2024. 

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