Liverpool Street Station: Griff Rhys Jones leads fight against works

An "unprecedented" number of names in the heritage and conservation sector have joined forces to combat the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station.

Welsh comedian Griff Rhys Jones is the new president of a campaign comprising of eight organisations, including The Victorian Society.

The campaign wants the "insensitive and harmful" plans to be scrapped.

Network Rail says the project will provide "long-lasting benefits".

Led by the developers of The Shard, the plans are estimated to cost £1.5bn and include the removal of the 1980s roof and original station entrance, and the construction of a 10-storey hotel and office block.

The relaunched Liverpool Street Station Campaign (LISSCA) says if plans are approved, it would set a terrible precedent as no listed building would be safe from harm.

Speaking to BBC London, Griff Rhys Jones said: "It's not necessary to say the only way to deal with the station is to completely and utterly obliterate what you see of it from the outside and inside.

"This is setting a terrible precedent, and it's wholly unacceptable."

LISSCA previously stopped the station's total demolition in the 1970s, and is hoping to save the Grade II-listed building once again.

The campaign is concerned the new development will destroy the impression of a cohesive Victorian space and shut off the former Great Eastern Hotel from the public by turning it into office space.

The Georgian Group, also part of LISSCA, says it is also worried about the impact of the new development on nearby buildings.

"The height and mass of the current proposals at Liverpool Street Station would compromise the prominent part that the drum and dome of St Paul's Cathedral has played in the London skyline for the past three centuries."

The Victorian Society said of the relaunch of LISSCA: "This is a totally unprecedent gathering of names in the heritage and conservation sector to combat this threat to Liverpool Street Station and its terminus hotel.

"We ourselves in the sector cannot remember a time when such a formalised partnership has happened to campaign as one."

Robin Dobson, group property director at Network Rail, said: "The plans would transform Liverpool Street Station into an exciting mixed-use destination in its own right, whilst sensitively restoring and showcasing the station's heritage architecture.

"We're delivering it through a public and private partnership, which will provide long-lasting benefits for the local community and the region."

The original station building dates back to the 1870s and, during World War Two, it served as a destination where some 10,000 children arrived on Kindertransport fleeing Nazi persecution.

More recently, it has become one of the capital's busiest train stations with new platforms added for the Elizabeth line.

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