While we await Network Rail’s proposal to improve Clapham Junction station, the public company has unveiled an ambitious scheme to transform Liverpool Street station. However, the initial proposal was so controversial that Network Rail has appointed a new project team to lead an altered redevelopment plan. In the second part of this article, the author presents an alternative vision for the station’s future.
While Clapham Junction allegedly holds the title of the busiest junction station in Europe, it is mainly due to the number of trains passing by to end at Waterloo Station and Victoria station, and to the number of interchanges between services (about 40% of the station’s activity). However, it’s far from being the busiest station in terms of total passenger numbers: in 2023-24, Clapham Junction recorded 22 858 million entries and exits, ranking 18th among UK stations.
This title is now owned by London Liverpool Street, which has overtaken London Waterloo, with over 100 million passengers annually. This sharp increase is largely attributed to the opening of the Elizabeth Line, which has significantly boosted passenger numbers.
Last year, Network Rail decided it was time to transform the station and announced a massive £1.5 billion redevelopment plan. It included increasing station capacity and improving passenger experience with a larger concourse, more lifts and more escalators. The proposal was led by developer Sellar and architects Herzog & de Meuron (the practice behind the Shard).
The initial proposal was highly controversial due to its aggressive design featuring a towering 108m, 21-storey skyscraper that would have dramatically altered the station’s historic character.
The plan proposed extensive demolition of the 1980s Victorian-style extension and a radical redesign of the station’s interior, which drew fierce criticism from heritage groups, local councils, and Historic England.
With over 2,000 objections compared to just 28 supportive letters, the proposal was seen as insensitive to the station’s architectural legacy and potential visual impact on surrounding landmarks like St Paul’s Cathedral. This was strongly opposed by a number of organisations including the Victorian Society, the Georgian Society and Historic England, due to the huge impact on listed parts of the station.
The overwhelming public and professional objections ultimately led Network Rail to withdraw the original scheme and present a more sympathetic, heritage-preserving alternative. It is noticeable that the new plan is no longer led by an international architectural practice but managed internally.
The updated design aims to address the station’s long-standing challenges with crowding, accessibility, and public space, with more consideration given to the station’s Victorian architectural heritage and listed buildings. The updated scheme still features a tall office building, only slightly reduced in height (97 meters instead of 108 meters). However, it seeks to improve some of the worst impacts of the previous one, and no longer seeks to cantilever a tower block over the top of the (listed) Great Eastern Hotel.
However, as is somewhat clear from the top image – in order to add the inevitable towers (the bit that will make money), the current design adds two rather strange stepped skyscrapers which are built over the main station concourse and sit uneasily next to the surrounding buildings.
As part of the new phase, Network Rail has launched a public consultation to gather community insights on these plans. Further details can be found on the consultation website, and feedback can be submitted online.
Is a ginormous skyscraper really necessary for a station redevelopment?
This revised proposal aims to balance the need for increased capacity at the UK’s busiest station with concerns about preserving its historic character and the architectural integrity of the surrounding area. However, whether it effectively achieves this balance remains open to debate.
Firstly it’s not clear that Liverpool Street station needs to be radically changed or redeveloped. Doing nothing to the station facades or footprint would be a fine approach, with money for needed upgrades coming from the government, as it should for the country’s busiest station.
However, while the station does have some residual Victorian charm, it’s somewhat hidden by the unsympathetic modifications to the facade, and the surrounding buildings, and currently is not a hugely successful design.
The most recent major station redevelopment in central London was London Bridge Station, closely linked to the construction of The Shard. This ambitious project, part of the £7 billion Thameslink railway program, not only transformed the station but also seamlessly integrated it with The Shard development.
In 2019, the architectural firm Hawkins/Brown – known for designing the new Peabody estate on St John’s Hill – unveiled a concept proposal for Clapham Junction station. The project included plans to deck over the tracks, similar to the redevelopment at London Bridge. It featured multiple blocks at the center of the deck, ranging from 15 to 20 storeys, with the tallest tower, approximately 40 storeys, proposed for the current site of the Old People’s House and the Suburb SW11 pub.
- Read our article: Concept proposal unveiled for the full redevelopment of Clapham Junction station and wider area
More recently, a consultation on a Clapham Junction Masterplan project was started. It has been announced as an 18-month process with two phases: an interchange link for the station and potential development around the station.
Various scenarios are being explored, including overpass bridges, tunnels, and expansions, with cost and impact studies underway. Ultretch station redevelopment, Reading and even London Bridge are also project that must be considered (even if it is likely to be unfeasible as the project team told CJI that decking the station was very unlikely). An update is expected towards the end of the year or early 2025, with adoption anticipated by 2026.
- Read our article: Clapham Junction Masterplan: initial presentation focusing on vague options for overpass bridges
Liverpool Street station: A counterproposalAlex Long has published a counter proposal for Liverpool Street Station, showing that there are alternatives that should be explored. The key to my idea for Liverpool Street Station’s redevelopment is reimagining the two main entrances. The Bishopsgate entrance offers space for the money-raising new development opportunity Network Rail so desperately wants, and – at the Liverpool Street side – we could have an exciting new public square. The current frontage onto Bishopsgate is a wasted opportunity, where the existing 1980s neo-Victorian facade neither fills the space nor provides a legible ‘main entrance’ the station deserves. Rather than putting a huge tower block here, we could have a substantial but in-proportion building that would offer new commercial square footage, as well as creating a coherence between the listed Great Eastern Hotel to the left and the post-modern office building to the right. This new building would be in a prestige Victorian style and a worthy enhancement to Bishopsgate. This would leave Liverpool Street as the main entrance, with a new cleared public square a la King’s Cross, albeit on a much smaller scale. This would unlock Liverpool Street as a high-quality public space, and celebrate the existing Victorian buildings rather than tearing them down. With a little bit of imagination and respect for the site’s heritage, we could have a generous new development that gives back to the area, promoting its success for decades to come, while creating a new destination in the City. You can read the full details of the proposal, and share your thoughts, on Locus. Links
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