Liverpool Street Station Redevelopment Criticised for Sustainability Shortcomings 

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03 September 2025

Proposals for a new tower block at Liverpool Street Station should be thrown out by the City of London planning committee due to environmental policy breaches, according to a government advisor on sustainability.

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Simon Sturgis, Managing Partner of Targeting Zero has produced a detailed carbon emission impact report on behalf of the Liverpool Street Station Campaign (LISSCA), who has previously submitted strong objections to the redevelopment’s designs and the disruption to heritage features. 

The report claims that the planning application for a speculative office block fails to meet a significant number of UK, GLA and City of London carbon emission-related environmental policies for new office development.

Estimates of the overall whole-life carbon figure for the project (2,200kgCO2e/m2 GIA) are comparable to an office building built around 1990, according to Simon.

The paper also suggests that the carbon assessment methodology is flawed due to relying on the redundant 1st Edition (2017) of the RICS Professional Standard with only partial use of the updated 2nd Edition. Simon suggests that this "pick and mix" approach produces artificially low carbon emission figures.

The report criticises the design and material choices, stating that the over-station development’s façade only has a 30 year life, calling the building “likely to be redundant on completion.” Simon also takes issue with the “poor wall to floor ratio”, which could contribute to higher embodied carbon costs and poor heat loss/gain performance.

He wrote: “Occupier and investor awareness of ESG issues is increasing, and therefore buildings such as this which have not evolved meaningfully past 20th-century office design are highly likely to be downgraded in value.” 

Simon also noted “a huge and unnecessary waste of resources” by the extensive demolition of useable station fabric.

Henrietta Billings, Director of SAVE Britain’s Heritage, part of the LISSCA coalition said: “The design and construction industry has made huge strides in the face of the climate emergency and there is no longer any excuse for last-century thinking. We urge the City of London to give this application the short shrift it deserves.”

A spokesperson told the BBC that the redevelopment will make “a vast contribution to reducing the carbon footprint in London through the significant upgrade which will enable two billion additional passengers to undertake sustainable journeys over the next 60 years."

Picture: An artist’s impression showing the former Great Eastern hotel with a large glass-fronted office block behind it. Image Credit: ©Network Rail Property and ACME

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 03 September 2025

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