GREEN LIGHT FOR NEW KING'S CROSS SQUARE
Published at 05:39 on Wednesday 25th January 2012
Tags: Network Rail, London Kings Cross, Rebuild
Network Rail
Plans to create a new public space in front of King’s Cross station, which will form the final part of its redevelopment, have been given the go-ahead by Camden Council.
The design will reveal the Victorian Grade I listed station façade for the first time in 150 years. In place of the current 1970s concourse extension will be a 7,000 square metre open space that will be 50% bigger than Leicester Square. The new area will feature a Yorkstone and granite paving pattern with new outdoor seating. An area suitable for large-scale art installations has also been identified.
Ian Fry, Network Rail’s Programme Director at King’s Cross said: “The station is at the heart of the regeneration of the King’s Cross area and it is great news for passengers, businesses and the community that the plans have been approved to create a new, public open space as part of it. The new public square and unveiled Grade I listed Lewis Cubbitt station façade will be the ideal complement to the new concourse, which opens in the spring, and together will help transform King’s Cross station into a world-class public
transport hub.
The decision to grant planning permission for the new space in front of the station marks the end of a four-year design programme, which involved more than 4,500 people being consulted on the plans. When completed, it is estimated that the square will be used by 140,000 people every day.
Although on the face of it the creation of an open public square would appear a simple task, but there are a number of complex engineering challenges owing to its location. The square will sit directly above the London Underground ticket hall, which limits the features that can be incorporated into the design, and the site also sits above tunnels carrying the River Fleet, London’s largest subterranean river, as well as other utilities and tube lines".
