YES to a station redevelopment

NO to the skyscrapers in Clapham Junction

As I wrote before, the planning application proposal to redevelop the site of Clapham Junction Station, received by Wandsworth Council, includes the construction of 2 TOWER BLOCKS OF 42 STOREYS EACH (same number of floors as Tower42 – the Natwest Tower).
We, the local residents, urge the Council to organise a wider consultation, including providing scale models within the station itself and door to door surveys addressing local residents’ concerns for the proposed development and the infrastructure required to support it (including security, parking, schools, etc).
Find below some considerations about the project:

Inadequate redevelopment of the station

• According to Network Rail’s own information, the scheme will not answer all of the current over-crowding problems and future redevelopment will be required.
• Almost no information exists as to the detail of the advertised plans. However it appears that the station access will be moved further away from the main crossroads with St John’s Road and will rely mainly on the footbridge.
• There are no plans to develop the already over-crowded underpass.

High towerblock design inappropriate and confrontational

• These shiny tower blocks will be highly visible from miles around.
• They will overwhelm the existing community, and will be of inappropriate form, size, height, design, materials and appearance with our neighbourhood of Victorian and low rise developments.

A thousand new residents, and no planning for coping with them

• The proposed housing consists entirely of small units, with no family housing (272 one-bedroom, 276 2-bed. and 8 3-bed. flats). Who is going to live in skyscrapers right above the busiest railway interchange in Europe? (train-spotters?)
  

It will make the area completely congested

• The station is already very congested at peak times (transfers between rail services, bus, taxi, car, walking, cycling). All the evidence shows that the problems will get much worse with over 1000 additional people concentrated in this small area around the station.
• Only 239 parking spaces will be provided for 556 new households. Will the new residents obtain residents’ permits for on street parking in the surrounding area?
• During the 3 year duration of works, the whole area will be blighted by construction, noise, lorries, dust, etc.

The new development is the most significant landmark project in the Borough since Battersea Power Station was started 80 years ago.

You can act before it is too late: let the Council know your views!

Download our leaflet and distribute around you.