Save Liverpool Street Station: Write to the Mayor

Grade II listed, award-winning Concourse at Liverpool Street Station Photo: The Victorian Society

“This is a critical moment for Liverpool Street Station. A damaging and unnecessary scheme now stands to be approved, unless the Mayor intervenes.”

Plans approved by the City of London would see significant parts of the historic station demolished, sweeping new retail inserted and the Victorian trainshed compromised, alongside the construction of a 19-storey office tower through and above it. The cumulative impact on the station and its setting would be huge.

The Mayor of London now has the power to intervene and to refuse this scheme.

We are asking you to write to the Mayor and call for it to be refused.

Why this matters

• The proposals would cause serious and unjustified harm to the Grade II-listed Liverpool Street Station and its historic surroundings through extensive demolition and the construction of a 19-storey office block in and over it.
• Less harmful options for improving the station have not been properly explored or assessed, despite clear evidence that alternatives exist.
• The developer’s own financial assessment raises serious doubts about whether the scheme can be delivered, and poses the real prospect that significant public funds could be required.
• The scheme would result in up to a decade of disruption, affecting passengers, businesses and the wider area.

How to write to the Mayor You can write by email or by post.

Email: [email protected]

Write to:
The Rt Hon Sir Sadiq Khan
Mayor of London
City Hall
Kamal Chunchie Way
London

Include this reference:
Planning Application 25/00494/FULEIA Liverpool Street Station

Start your letter with:
I am writing to ask you to call in and refuse the redevelopment proposals for Liverpool Street Station.

What to say in your letter

The Mayor can intervene if the scheme meets three tests. You can structure your letter around them.

1. Conflict with the London Plan

• The scheme would cause significant harm to a Grade II-listed station, the neighbouring II*-listed former station hotel, and the station’s wider setting and surrounding conservation area
• It includes a 19-storey tower in a location not identified as suitable for tall buildings
• It fails to conserve heritage assets and respect their setting, and fails to properly assess alternatives that would better preserve the station’s significance

2. Impact beyond the City of London

• Liverpool Street is one of the busiest railway stations in the UK, serving passengers from across London and beyond
• The proposed construction period would cause up to a decade of widespread disruption
• The impacts would be felt far beyond the City of London

3. There are strong planning reasons to refuse the scheme

• The scale of harm is not necessary to deliver improvements to the station
• Less harmful alternatives have not been properly assessed
• The developer’s own assessment raises serious doubts about whether the scheme can be delivered
• The claimed public benefits are uncertain and cannot justify the harm
• There is a real risk that public funds could be required

Keep your letter simple

• Use your own words – do not copy and paste directly from this page
• Keep your letter clear and concise
• Focus on the key points above

Act now

The Mayor is expected to make a decision soon. Please write today and help protect Liverpool Street Station for present and future generations.

Griff Rhys Jones OBE, President of the Victorian Society said: 

“Londoners do not want a vast office block plonked down on top of their beloved Liverpool Street Station, and the eye-watering harm it would cause. This is an ill-thought-out scheme that would demolish historic fabric and still deliver very little for passengers. This is really about a huge office development, not a better station. We have seen at St Pancras and King’s Cross stations that these buildings can be upgraded and redeveloped without this level of destruction – so where is the proper evaluation of less damaging alternatives? The Mayor has the power to ask for a less destructive and greener solution and he should do so. We must all write to ask him to stop this planning application. On behalf of London and the railway capital of the world the Mayor must intercede. Make your feeling known.”

 James Hughes, Director of the Victorian Society said:

‘This is a deeply flawed scheme. It proposes a high level of harm to a historic station and would set a staggering precedent, yet its delivery is uncertain and the claimed public benefits are therefore speculative. In those circumstances, the harm cannot be justified – particularly when less damaging alternatives have not been properly assessed. The Mayor now has a clear opportunity to step in and refuse it. London deserves better, and it is in his power to ensure that.’

Read some of the letters to the Mayor from the national amenity societies and heritage charities here: 

The Victorian Society

The Twentieth Century Society

The Georgian Group

SAVE Britain’s Heritage

The Council for British Archaeology

London & Middlesex Archaeological Society 

Additional information:

The Standard – Liverpool Street redevelopment will cause ‘decade of chaos’

BBC – Liverpool Street Station plans should be thrown out on sustainability grounds

The Victorian Society – Concerns over misleading tactics during consultation

Architect’s Journal – Serious concerns raised over Liverpool Street Station redevelopment job procurement of architect

BBC – Report raised doubts over plans financial viability

Building – Highest number of objections ever received by a planning application in the City of London