This week Network Rail is consulting on plans to partially demolish Liverpool Street Station and cantilever a tower over the grade II* hotel. Sadly, the consultation falsely claims the plans won’t harm heritage and misrepresents the benefits it will provide.  The consultation is taking place at the station near Boots, in a unit under an escalator, at the Broadgate Entrance Lower Concourse until Saturday 22 April - 4pm to 7pm on weekdays and 10am to 1pm on Saturday. We urge you to go to the consultation and ask these difficult questions so that as many attendees as possible hear about the problems with the plans:

1)     How is heritage not going to be harmed when the listed station will be partially demolished, and a tower cantilevered over a grade II* building in a conservation area?

2)     Why do the consultation materials make factually incorrect, misleading claims? Such as claiming that the development will pay for 6 extra lifts when some of these are due to be installed separately from the scheme as are the gate line improvements.

3)     Why is this scheme needed when passenger numbers haven’t recovered from Covid, and the Elizabeth Line has reduced the need for people to change trains at Liverpool Street?

4)     Why do the images show the concourse as light filled? Any natural light will be lost as the concourse will have a huge tower over it, putting the Victorian train sheds in shadow.

5)     Why can’t Network Rail redevelop other places it owns (where heritage wouldn’t be harmed) to pay for the accessibility improvements at Liverpool Street? Network Rail is paying for 4 new lifts at suburban Hither Green Station why can’t it pay for lifts at a major London terminus? Or develop other places it owns where there is no harm to heritage to pay for accessibility improvements?

6)     Is the extra revenue Network Rail will make from new commercial space the real driver for the scheme?

7)     How can a new tower which will use huge amounts of carbon to produce all the steel concrete and glass be described as ‘Net Zero’? This seems to be extreme greenwashing by totally ignoring the huge amount of carbon emissions generated by building the tower.

8)     Why did Network Rail partner with Sellar to develop a public asset, Liverpool Street Station, for profit, without any public competition to see which developer could make the station accessible for cheaper, in a less harmful way?

9)     How long will passengers be inconvenienced for whilst the station is demolished, and the tower is built? While trains might not have to be diverted, rebuilding the concourse will inevitably cause huge amounts of disruption for passengers. Yet this is not mentioned at all in the materials.

10)  What is the expected life span of the tower and what impact will its eventual demolition have on the listed buildings? Has a Whole Life Carbon assessment been undertaken for the project? Modern buildings are not built to last for ever.  The Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA) states that ‘although many commercial buildings have a design life of 50 years, it is more common for the useful life to be around 25 years’. Indeed, the Broadgate development next to Liverpool Steet has just been demolished and rebuilt after a few decades.

We expect the planning application to be submitted by the end of the month. We would love more signatories so please share this list on social media and encourage people to sign the petition.  Thank you.