All aboard for regeneration

The Council is committed to supporting the regeneration of north Kensington by providing better housing and improved facilities, such as a new school and improved transport links. A previous issue of RBKC Direct looked at the case for a new school in area.  In this issue we look at the Council’s vision for a Crossrail Station at Kensal that would transform the area and unlock the significant development potential of the Kensal Gas Works Sites.

The argument for a Crossrail station

Kensington and Chelsea Council it’s putting its full weight behind proposals for a new Crossrail station in the north of the borough.

The Council believes that if the plans for a Crossrail station get the green light it will mean thousands of new homes and jobs being created in a deprived part of north Kensington.

Crossrail will connect central London, Canary Wharf, the West End and Heathrow Airport to areas east and west of the capital. 

Crossrail requires a ‘turnback’ site in west London to accommodate trains that will make shorter journeys across central London. These are trains that will only go as far west as Paddington and will need the turnback facility in order to change tracks and make the return journey.

Of the two possible locations, a 67-acre site in Kensal, north Kensington, presents the greatest regeneration opportunity the area has seen for decades.  Its impact would also be felt in south Brent and north Westminster and would help secure the future of Portobello Road.

Passengers using the new station would arrive in the West End in ten minutes and Canary Wharf in less than 20, bringing massive benefits for residents who are currently poorly served by public transport.  Trains will run approximately every five minutes. 

The Kensal site, one of the last major regeneration sites in central London, is capable of accommodating more than 2,500 new homes, new shops and community facilities, but its wide-scale regeneration depends on the new transport links offered by Crossrail.   

The alternative site in Paddington won’t even provide a new station, just a turnback facility at which the only people to get on and off the train will be the train crew.

Kensal regeneration area consists of the Kensal gas works, a vacant site previously connected to the gas works owned by developers Ballymore, the Sainsbury’s site and the former Eurostar depot.  Under the Council’s regeneration proposals, the existing Sainsbury’s would be replaced by a new state-of-the-art store that customers could access more easily and would be supported by a range of other retail, social and community facilities.

The site lies in Golborne ward, recognised by Government as amongst the most deprived wards in the country.   Kensington and Chelsea Council has already asked the Mayor of London to give the site official opportunity area status.

Full steam ahead as Imperial Wharf opens

In the south-west of the borough, meanwhile, Chelsea residents have been benefitting from the new Imperial Wharf Station that opened in September. The station came about as a result of a partnership between the Council, Hammersmith & Fulham Council, the developer St George, Transport for London (TfL), Network Rail, London Overground Rail Operations Ltd (LOROL) and British Transport Police.

The Royal Borough contributed £650,000 towards the £7.8 million funding package, and worked with the key partners to push forward the station plans that had been in limbo for more than 15 years before funding was secured.

By 2011, four trains will run in each direction every hour, while the station will allow residents much easier access to the Underground at West Brompton and Shepherd’s Bush.  It will also link Imperial Wharf to Clapham Junction - Britain’s busiest rail interchange - to the south and Willesden Junction to the north.

What do you think?

The Royal Borough’s transport infrastructure has changed relatively little since it was developed in the nineteenth century. In contrast, the demands placed upon it have continued to change and the need to move people, goods and services has increased. Do you think a Crossrail Station in the north of the borough will prove the catalyst to regenerating the area?

Email your comments on this story to rbkcdirect@rbkc.gov.uk