£1.55 billion development plan for Liverpool Street
PLANNING permission for a £1.55 billion ‘Hong Kong-style’ redevelopment of London Liverpool Street will be sought by the end of the year, RAIL can reveal.
It will follow the completion of a public consultation into proposals first made in late 2021, to construct a new two-level concourse at the Great Eastern Main Line terminus and to double the width of the station’s southern entrance.
As part of a contract award notification published last December, Network Rail described how increased circulation was desperately needed to alleviate “significant overcrowding problems” at Britain’s third busiest station, which was used by some 70 million passengers per annum before the pandemic.
The current conditions at the 17-platform terminus are predicted by NR “to get worse as a result of forecast growth in passenger arrivals and interchanges”.
This follows the opening in May of the underground Elizabeth line station at Liverpool Street, on Crossrail’s central section.
The rise in passengers using this key interchange will add to the weight of additional footfall already anticipated from substantial housing growth on main line routes to East Anglia.
Under the terms of the notification, the redevelopment is expected to be privately funded, and would likely include a new office development above the station as well as the revamp of the adjoining Andaz Hotel.
NR remains in commercial negotiations with a joint venture (JV) led by Shard developer Sellar Property Group, which owns development rights to the hotel and land that is crucially needed to improve throughflow at Liverpool Street.
A contract award is scheduled to be made on January 25 2023.
Also included in the JV is Hong Kong-based transport operator MTR, whose UK arm operates Elizabeth line services from both the main line and Crossrail stations at Liverpool Street on behalf of Transport for London.
Speaking exclusively to RAIL, MTR UK CEO Steve Murphy said he