More than 2,000 objections to £1.5b Liverpool Street hotel development
Plans for a £1.5b hotel and office redevelopment at London's Liverpool Street Station have attracted more than 2,000 objections.
The plans would see a multi-storey block built above the station and former Great Eastern hotel, now the Andaz London Liverpool Street hotel, which are both Grade II-listed.
The proposal includes up to 10 floors of office space and the development of a new Andaz hotel, to be operated by Hyatt.
At time of writing 2,169 objections have been made through the City of London's planning portal, with just 29 registered in support of the proposal.
Comments described the plans as "vandalism", "ugly and uninspired" and "out of character" for the historic building.
Actor and comedian Griff Rhys Jones, president of the Victorian Society and Liverpool Street Station Campaign (LISCCA), had earlier called it an "unnecessary and destructive" development. Broadcaster Stephen Fry and artist Tracey Emin are also among those to have spoken out about the plans.
Sellar, the developer behind the Shard skyscraper, unveiled the proposals in October in partnership with Network Rail and Elizabeth Line operator MTR.
The project team said no Victorian elements of the station were being demolished and the scheme would improve accessibility and reduce overcrowding at the station.
LISSCA is concerned the Andaz London Liverpool Street Hotel, which was built in 1884, would be shut off from the public and turned into an office space, while its historic ballroom would be knocked through to open it up to the station.
The campaign group is comprised of the Victorian Society, Save Britain's Heritage, the Twentieth Century Society, Historic Buildings and Places, the Georgian Group, the Spitalfields Trust, Civic Voice, and London Historians.
In 1974 the Victorian Society and other organisations successfully campaigned to save London Liverpool Street station from total demolition.
The group has launched a petition calling on developers to abandon the new plans, which has received more than 26,000 signatures.
Within planning documents Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, chair of Network Rail, said: "London Liverpool Street is the gateway to the City of London, and a critical piece of national infrastructure that currently us unsatisfactory for our passengers and also for the City. We have no other proposal that delivers as much for transport connectivity and economic growth."
A spokesperson for the Liverpool Street station project team, comprising Network Rail, MTR and Sellar, had previously said: "The station that the Victorian Society campaigned to save in the 1970s no longer exists as much of it was demolished in the 1980s.
"Our approach prioritises protecting and enhancing the remaining heritage elements, both within the Andaz hotel and the station itself. The Victorian elements of the station are not being demolished."
The spokesperson added that the proposals would ensure the station's future as a "major transport hub" and that developers were working to "sensitively integrate the commercial elements of the project".
The application is expected to be considered by the City of London later this year.
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