Posts filed under ‘Station redevelopment’
Still waiting for news from the architects for CJ station
Author: Cyril Richert
In our latest conversation (March 2013) with the architects contacted by Delancey last autumn about the redevelopment of Clapham Junction station (for producing a high level feasibility study to assist their client in assessing the scheme) we were told that they were still waiting for the client to come back to them. They have agreed to arrange a meeting to talk about their project, as soon as they have more information from their client. (more…)
New line opened and other improvements underway at the station
Author: Cyril Richert
The new London Overground route began running on Sunday 9th December. The service stops en route at Wandsworth Road, Clapham High Street, Denmark Hill, Peckham Rye and Queens Road Peckham. Trains from Clapham Junction will continue direct to stations in north and east London including Shoreditch High Street, Hoxton, Highbury and Islington and Dalston Junction. (more…)
AHMM has been appointed to work on the multi-million redevelopment of Clapham Junction station
Author: Cyril Richert
The Architect’s Journal exclusively revealed yesterday that AHMM has been appointed by Metro Shopping Fund (MSF) to work on the multi-million redevelopment of Clapham Junction station. (more…)
After Peabody comes the station
Author: Cyril Richert
According to an article published in the Architects’ Journal, Hawkins\Brown (Peabody’s Architects), AHMM, BDP, Terry Farrell and Wilkinson Eyre have been shortlisted to look at resurrecting the multi-million pound redevelopment of Clapham Junction in south-west London. Apparently, Collado Collins, the architect of the previous scheme, is not taking part.
Three years after it was forced to withdraw a controversial £400 million twin towers scheme, the Land Securities and Delancey-owned joint venture has decided to select the five practices to look at redeveloping the Clapham Junction train station shopping centre with a view to appointing one to carry out a feasibility study. They said:
“The Metro Shopping Fund can confirm that it has spoken to a group of architects with a view to one of them being appointed to carry out a study to assess the feasibility of development at Clapham Junction station. This process is at a very early stage and should in no way be seen as an indication that the Fund will be undertaking development at the station either now or in the future.“
MSF has not contacted the Clapham Junction Action Group at any time. However they should be well aware of our view as we published a full study with ideas and proposals on this website last year. And they should also remember the overwhelming reaction caused by their previous proposal and the way it ended.
As reported by the Architects’ Journal, the Council said:
‘A private development scheme could help to solve some of the underlying problems and we would expect the plans to complement the town centre environment.’
There is absolutely no doubt that all eyes will be watching the fate of the plan presented by Peabody, to see what direction to take for the station. After all, Hawkins\Brown, one of the architect selected, did not see any controversy in proposing a 21 storey towers for the Peabody site at the top of St John’s Hill 2 years ago.
If Peabody’s proposal is approved as it stands currently with 12-10 tower blocks and 60% higher density, we can expect 15, 20 or even bigger towers for the station with the imagination of architects (42 storeys did not appear out of place for the developers!) and a little Croydon on its way for Clapham Junction.
Station investment can help stimulating economic growth
Author: Cyril Richert
A report released by a consulting company and commissioned by Network Rail, insists on the multiple benefits of station investment: it stimulates economic growth, exceed the benefits of standard transport investment, increase property values.
I was contacted in July 2011 by Steer Davies Gleave (international transport consultants) to give the views of the group on Clapham Junction Station redevelopment. The aim of their study was to quantify the local and national benefits from station investment, particularly focusing on broader impacts on regeneration, development, land use and other wider effects.
The final report has now been released. The headline findings and full report can be found on the Steer Davies Gleave website, but they expect Network Rail to publish the document at some point in due course.
The report published seeks:
- To investigate the commercial potential of station development;
- To quantify, as far as possible, the impact of station investment on the economy; and,
- To identify the implications for future station investment.
Based on interviews with over 60 stakeholders (but focusing often on Manchester Piccadilly, Sheffield Station Gateway Project or Birmingham New Street, which give good example of the broad impact of regeneration), and economic modelling and case study investigations, the key findings of the research were:
- Stations can have a major impact on the towns and cities that they serve, often acting as regional gateways, helping to stimulate economic growth and attract businesses.
- The productivity benefit associated with increased development around stations enabled by station investment can exceed those benefits estimated by traditional transport appraisal techniques by 5 to 7 times.
- Investment in Sheffield Station and the surrounding area contributed to a 67% increase in the rateable value of property within 400 metres of the stations between 2003 and 2008 – three times the average increase for Sheffield over the same time period.
- Investment in Manchester Piccadilly Station has similarly helped to create 650,000 square feet of new and refurbished office space and to increase property values by some 33%.
- Obtaining maximum value from station investment often requires supporting investment in the area surrounding a station, especially where there is a legacy of under-investment in adjacent land and property.
- At the same time, station investment can act as a catalyst to broader development providing there is an appropriate balance between railways’ operational, commercial and regeneration objectives.
- Almost all stakeholders interviewed identified the significant contribution that railway stations can make in attracting inward investment to a city or region.
A parliamentary report suggested that transport improvements should be aimed at “tackling problems and shortages”. Over the £35b funding available to NR for the period 2009-2014, a third is to be spent specifically on increasing capacity (either through major projects such as Thameslink, £2.7 billion, or Crossrail, or through smaller-scale investments).
Clapham Junction, named the second worse station in the country last year, has already been listed to recieve some money from that pot with a few projects to lengthen platforms:
- Prior approval applications for lengthening platforms 3 and 4 (October 2010), and 1 and 2 (2011) have been determined. This will allow South West Train to operate 10 car local services;
- The lengthening of platform 15 is due to be determined shortly.
Network Rail is also considering further plans to extend platform 17 and for congestion relief for their next funding period 2014-19, according to a letter received from Wandsworth Council.
The first words of the report highlight the importance of rail-stations:
“The rail network makes an unrivalled contribution to the sustainable growth of the UK economy, providing millions of people with access to jobs, goods and services. There is no more visible evidence of this contribution than that afforded by the role of railway stations in their communities.”
As stated in the document, the study is not about operational improvements (changes to
the number and / or configuration of platforms, frequency of trains…) such as what is planned for Clapham Junction currently, which relates to train services. It is focusing on passengers flow, increasing the overall capacity of the station… etc.
The study says:
“In principle, various improvements can be made to a station in order to increase passenger satisfaction with the environment. These include changes designed to increase the level of natural light within station building and below station canopies, measures to remove clutter and improve sightlines within and between the different areas of the station, and better signage to assist way finding. Such investment will invariably improve passengers’ sense of well-being, making them feel more comfortable and, as discussed further below, potentially more inclined to use retail, catering and other facilities. Further, in certain circumstances it may also encourage a ‘sense of place’, with the result that the station becomes a destination in its own right rather than a transitory stage in a journey. [...]
Improvements in access can include a range of measures providing for better connections between a station and the surrounding area or quicker onward connections to other destinations. These may take the form of new pedestrian links, better way finding. [...]
Effective exploitation of commercial opportunities in and around a station will generally have a direct impact on the level of economic activity in the area that it serves, stimulating investment as well as creating employment . [...] “
Beside the passenger experience, it gives example with the benefits of enhancing the retail (Birmingham High Street) or Offices (London Bridge, Cannon Street) as well as mix use developments. But it also highlights the ongoing need to take account of planning issues, warning scheme promoters that they should not assume that regenerative impacts will necessarily outweigh other concerns.
Those are many of the things that we have raised in our proposal, and that we would like the Council to address with a broader vision.
Longer trains for Clapham Junction
Author: Cyril Richert
“A second south London rail operator has announced plans to use longer trains on local commuter services. Southern Railways has now confirmed it is ordering extra carriages for rush hour services in December 2013 meaning thousands more Wandsworth residents can now look forward to a more comfortable journey to work.” according to Wandsworth Council’s press release.
South West Trains (SWT) was the first operator to announce last months plans to lengthen (from eight to ten carriages from May 2013) some of its rush hour services on routes from Windsor, Hounslow and Weybridge to and from Waterloo. These services stop at Putney, Wandsworth Town, Clapham Junction and Queenstown Road Stations and are used every weekday by thousands of local residents. Extra trains will make use of platform 20 at the former Waterloo International Terminal (former Eurostar platforms)
It follows confirmation from Wandsworth Council that prior approval applications for lengthening platforms 3 and 4 (October 2010), and 1 and 2 (2011) have been determined and they are still expecting this to be completed by 2014 to enable 10 car local services to be operated as planned (in the original plans Network Rail was talking about platforms 11/12 and 13/14 but decided to cancel the work).
But many Clapham Junction users won’t find any relief to their daily agony as trains to Waterloo on platform 10 are not part of the plan, while the queue to board the carriages is frequently extending now to the stairs accessing the platform!
CJAG proposal: the response from Wandsworth Council
Author: Cyril Richert
Following the dossier published by the Clapham Junction Action Group on the redevelopment of Clapham Junction station, Barry Sellers, Wandsworth Council officer, sent an answer on January 5th, 2012. We thank him for taking the time to address our queries and the opportunity to discuss the mater.
His response highlight the 10-point plan set out by the Council in 2011 for the station:
- Complete the East London Line extension to Clapham Junction
- Connect Clapham Junction to the Underground
- A new station entrance to St John’s Hill via Brighton Yard
- Improve the station environment and facilities
- Provide new rail services to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports
- Improve the routes between the town centre and the station
- Improve interchange between rail, bus services, taxis and cycling
- Increase the capacity of the station
- Improve train frequencies
- Improve public transport information and convenience of ticketing
The letter claims point 3 has been completed. Indeed there is a new entrance via Brighton Yard as we reported in May last year. The East London Line extension to Clapham Junction (1) should be completed by December 2012.
We were told by Network Rail (NR) in a meeting in January 2010 that the £20m allocated to platform lengthening and straightening at CJ was no longer considered necessary and went back to the pot of funding for all Sussex lines. However as the letter says that Wandsworth Borough Council (WBC) still expect the work to be completed, the difference might be hiding in details. In the original plans NR was talking about platforms 11/12 and 13/14. Platform 15 was already scheduled and WBC confirms now that application for platform 15 is (only?) due to be determined shortly. We assume that platform 1/2 was also made necessary with the East London line extension and further plans. In any case initial funding was meant to be allocated to work completing in 2013. The letter is now talking about 2014…
WBC is not aware of plans to run Thameslink trains as we stated in our dossier. Again here it might be a question of vocabulary as it might have be re-allocated/re-denominated as Airtrack or Overground…
Works to accommodate the East London Line Overground Service from Surrey Quays is currently underway. We were told by other sources that changes to stairs became necessary to accommodate security regulation, which was not forecast in the initial plans. We are now told that the work also involves alterations to the Grant Road entrance to the station and a new lift to platforms 1 and 2 (current application 2011/5462). This is very good news, but we regret that instead of being properly planned and foreseen some years ago when NR and WBC started to think of the redevelopment of the station (as we were told that Delancey’s plan of Twin Towers was once-in-a-life-time opportunity and now or never!), it was all rushed by the East London Line extension regulations.
Instead of “patching” Grant Road entrance, why is there no plan to redevelop the entrance completely with a new hall?
The letter elaborates also the progress on Airtack and Crossrail2 that we have already presented in a recent article.
External growth presented in the dossier is of course related to the existing or planned proposals that raised for the last few years. It does not take into account hypothetic assumptions made by WBC in its Site Specific Allocation Document (SSAD) such as the re-alignment of Falcon lane as we have already demonstrated the uncertainty of the idea.
Regarding improvement of St Johns Hill entrance, the letter point out the current changes made on the pavements by the Exemplar scheme, due to be completed (on this part) in 2012.
We all agree that Clapham Junction is deserving of a building of architectural.
However there is no answer or hint from WBC to promote any major improvement including a new main hall with a complete redesign of Clapham Junction Station. Instead it seems that WBC prefers to concentrate on smaller (thus more achievable indeed) goals on the short term, which they can claim credit for at the election term, without any consideration for a global vision on the longer future of Clapham Junction station (there is indeed no such word in the 10-point plan!).
Although we appreciate the efforts made to improve the station, the current measures are only “patches” and we will continue to lobby the Council for a more ambitious proposal.
You can read and download the full answer from Wandsworth Council HERE.
Update on the train connection to Heathrow
Author: Cyril Richert
The proposal – which is based on BAA’s Airtrack scheme – should provide 4 trains an hour from Waterloo to Terminal 5 with stops at Clapham Junction (and Putney). At the end of October 2011 a Council’s press release announced update and changes to the plans for a new direct rail service from south London to Heathrow.
Wandsworth has come up with a new plan – called Airtrack-Lite – that routes two trains an hour from Waterloo via the Hounslow loop. Two existing services on the Waterloo-Windsor line would split at Staines to provide a further direct link to Terminal Five.
The new scheme would require a new station at Staines and a new stretch of track from here to Terminal 5. The rest of the route would run along existing lines.
The plans avoid routeing extra trains through level crossings in Mortlake and Egham, which was apparently a key problem with the original scheme which was scrapped by BAA in April.
We reported on the plan more than 2 years ago when we presented the original Airtrack plan linking Clapham Junction directly to Heathrow.
The council is now discussing the case for Airtrack-Lite with the Department for Transport but, even minimal, the new scheme requires a new station and tracks and is unlikely to be completed before 2014.
Although it is rather confusing and a bit complicated, Wandsworth Council corrected us recently on the difference between Airtrack and CrossRail2, as we wrote in our dossier: “Another name given to the Airtrack project above is Crossrail 2“. As we explained in a previous article, CrossRail2 proposes a tunnel from Euston/Kings Cross via Victoria to Clapham Junction. However the scheme shows further lines towards Clapham Junction and therefore Airtrack.
CJAG proposal for the redevelopment of Clapham Junction station
Author: Cyril Richert
Over the last 3 years, we have been supported by many local residents, associations and councillors who were keen to join us to express their concerns about Clapham Junction and particularly the station.
In 2009, we have been involved in the campaign against the project to erect two 42 storey towers on top of the train station. With letters and petitions, we were supported by more than a thousand local residents expressing their objections to the proposal, but also their wish to redevelop the facility.
We are concerned that our involvement should not just be reactive, but a positive contribution to any new development. Clapham Junction Station is currently the biggest junction in Europe. It is in a disgraceful state, a national scandal, and as such it should be treated as a priority. Money is, as always, the stumbling block but with the help of concerned people we may be able to inspire more imaginative thinking about the scope of the opportunity without resorting to skyscrapers to pay for it.
For many months we have collected ideas and opinions, asking for residents and local stakeholders to participate and express their views, concerns and opinions on the future of our station. All comments have been published on the website (here) and area also available at the bottom of this post.
We have now published the dossier of the Clapham Junction Action Group along with the Annex documents.
Our main conclusion is:
All recent examples show that instead of having a vision for the future of the rail station, the authorities have always reacted to “patch” urgent and critical issues (congestion and overcrowding lead to the opening of Brighton Yard, capacity regulation forced an urgent workout on Grant Road side). All those problems were however highlighted by users and local residents for years.
With the failure to achieve any redevelopment for Clapham Junction in the past decade, along with the lack of a global planning for any long term commitment, the situation will be exacerbated with passengers and services increasing.
In an ideal world, a regeneration of the Clapham Junction area would consist of a fabulous new station complex on the site of the existing buildings South of the tracks on the model of Birmingham New Street. This would recognise the function of the site as a station, and allow a reasonable development of additional office and retail facilities without creating the eyesore of high rise residential blocks.
The redevelopment of Clapham Junction station is Network Rail’s responsibility. The site should easily justify such a development based on passenger numbers, and we believe that this should remain our aspiration.
You can download all documents below:
DOSSIER: Station Redevelopment Proposal-July11
ANNEX1: Consultation MSF 2009 (42-storey skyscrapers)
ANNEX2: contribution received by CJAG:
- Example of redevelopment with Basel Station
- 01/02/2010-KateWilliams
- 10/02/2010-Tony Papard
- 17/02/2010-Judith Howard
- 17/02/2010-Michael
- 19/02/2010-David Hargreaves
- 26/02/2010-Sue Vidovic
- 08/03/2010-Derrick Johnson
- 08/03/2010-Janet Johnson
- 09/03/2010-Richard Gott
- 10/03/2010-S Rose
- 19/03/2010-Carol Jennings
- 24/04/2010-Cyril Richert
- 05/05/2010-Julia Matcham
- 12/05/2010-David Curran
- 13/05/2010-Lynda Mathewson
- 13/05/2010-Paul Forrester
- 15/05/2010-Tim Glass
- 15/05/2010-Marianne I. van Abbe
- 16/05/2010-David Hargreaves
- 16/05/2010-Will Henderson
- 19/05/2010-Pat Johnson
- 31/05/2010-Elaine Macfarlane
- 06/06/2010-Marney Rd
- 06/07/2010-Judith Howard
- 01/09/2010-Craig Liversidge
- 23/10/2010-Peter Deakins
- 30/11/2010-Wandsworth Labour Group
- 12/01/2011-Halldor Fossa
- 03/06/2011-Battersea Society
Distribution:
A hard copy of the dossier (with annex) has been sent (or given during meetings) within the past 3 weeks to:
- Network Rail – Paul Plummer
- Office of Rail Regulation – John Larkinson, Nick O’Hara
- Steer Davies Gleave (consulting company commissioned by Network Rail to review investments) – Vicky Thompson
- Secretary of State for Transport, The Rt Hon MP (Putney/Wandsworth) – Justine Greening
- Wandsworth Council, Environment and Community Services – Tony McDonald, Martin Howell
- Wandsworth Council, Strategic Planning and Transportation Committee – Cllr Russell King
- Northcote Ward Councillors – Cllr Jenny Browne, Cllr Peter Dawson, Cllr Martin Johnson
- Labour Group – Cllr Tony Belton
- Battersea Society – David Lewis
- Wandsworth Society – Philip Whyte
- Wandsworth Guardian – Alexandra Rucki
- South London Press – Lindsay Burns, Paul Dietrich
Consulting company to study benefits for station investment at Clapham Junction
Author: Cyril Richert
Network Rail has commissioned Steer Davies Gleave to carry out a study to assess the ‘Economic Value of Investment in Rail Stations’ [1]. The aim of this study is to quantify the local and national benefits from station investment, particularly focusing on broader impacts on regeneration, development, land use and other wider effects.
Steer Davies Gleave has worked alongside Network Rail to identify a number of stations use as case studies for the project. Clapham Junction is one of these stations and a core element of the research is to speak to key stakeholders and discuss:
- The objectives of the station investment scheme, and what impacts the investment has had/will have.
- How the station fits in to the wider regeneration of the local area, including impacts on the property market (e.g. whether there have been, or are expected to be, effects on the type, rate, scale and value of development).
More on the same topic very soon…
[1] Of Network Rail’s £35 billion investment programme between 2009 and 2014, £11.7 billion is to be spent specifically on increasing capacity, either through major projects such as Thameslink (£2.7 billion during 2009-2014) or Crossrail, or through smaller-scale investments including new and longer trains and schemes to lengthen platforms. The scale of the enhancement programme in Control Period 4 (2009-2014) is more than twice that of Control Period 3, covering 2004-09. Whereas enhancement expenditure accounted for approximately 11% of total rail expenditure between 2004 and 2009 it now accounts for 33%. Eddington’s report suggested that transport improvements should be aimed at “tackling problems and shortages”, as these are most likely to offer real benefits to passengers and freight users and offer best value-for-money. (source: Parliament publication)
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