New London Overground station sees lifeline as developer funding agreed
Plans to build a new London Overground station at Surrey Canal Road in Bermondsey have received a funding boost as part of newly agreed plans for Bermondsey.
This week saw Lewisham Council approve an altered funding allowance at a Strategic Planning meeting as part of the New Bermondsey development which totals 3,518 homes.
A downside to the agreement which will see £17.17 million for a station is a reduction in “affordable” housing in phase two of 100 homes.
Funding will help the station scheme but is far from enough to meet the entire cost of construction. It also requires Transport for London funding.
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Plans for the station were submitted in 2021 for a 2025 opening, which is clearly not going to be met as plans were paused in July 2022.
It should also be noted that Lewisham Council could have seen greater revenue for both transport and other services if they’d revised Community Infrastructure Levy rates as opposed back in 2018. They commenced a revision six years ago then “paused” – and nothing has yet changed.
The authority stated this was to draw up a new Local Plan – yet the process has been incredibly slow, and recent judgments show that wasn’t even a requirement.
Work on the Local Plan is finally underway but that delay would have cost revenue in a financially constrained time for councils.
Millwall
The site sits near Millwall’s NewDden ground and in May a 999-year lease was agreed between the club and Lewisham council.
New Bermondsey should also improve access to Southern Railway’s South Bermondsey station which is currently pretty isolated. Services run every 15 minutes taking just five minutes to reach London Bridge station.
It’s far from the only development in the area and stretching along Ilderton Road towards the Old Kent Road. Thousands of homes are now underway and with the Bakerloo line still looking like a fantasy with no funding, transport improvements are essential.
Other improvements for London Overground include an increase to 18 trains per hour then 20 trains per hour.
That increase will not only benefit this site but nearby stations such as Canada Water where thousands more homes are on the way. Earlier today this site covered plans to close Odeon cinema at Surrey Quays next month in advance of new housing and shops.
Phase one of New Bermondsey is set to see towers up to 32-floors in height. A more detailed post about the housing component of this scheme will follow.
I personally do think that a new London Overground close to Millwall FC The Den stadium in Bermondsey should get the go ahead along with new development. It would make such a difference to the area around Bermondsey in Southeast London.
This station is needed as it is a difficult area to reach without a car. A big station is needed even without football traffic.
True. Totally agree.
How can it cost £17m+ to build this station? I would estimate a few million could do it, it’s not a particularly complex building and they even created some of the infrastructure there already in case of future station. What’s the cause? Skills shortage? Corruption? If construction genuinely costs this much no wonder we have a housing crisis, and something needs to be done to address it if we’re ever going to have enough homes built.
@Sean s: I thought the footings for Surrey Canal Road station were already in place and agree with you that £17m and upwards is a hell of a lot of money just to build up the station infrastructure.
As there are plans for a new railway station to be built in Bermondsey that would be located on Surrey Canal Road and very much close to Millwall FC The Den stadium.
I do think that the people who live in that area wouldn’t mind having a railway station so that they can use the London Overground to commute to other areas in London. And for travelling football fans to get to and from the football ground.
And South Bermondsey station to be redeveloped and to have step-free access that Southern already operates a shuttle service from London Victoria to London Bridge in which TfL could take over and for London Overground to operate between London Victoria and London Bridge.