All change at Brockley Station

As a gateway to the community, Brockley Station is currently pretty woeful, particularly on the west side. With passenger numbers forecast to treble between now and 2011, thanks to the arrival of the East London Line, it is also in danger of becoming unfit for the task of getting people on to trains.

Access on the west side is cramped and dark late at night, while the term "ticket hall" is too grand for a portaloo on stilts. On the east side, the work of the Brockley Cross Action Group to prettify the area and the arrival of the Broca have really improved things but the Brockley Common site remains inaccessible and, we suspect, most people don't even know it's there.

However, three separate developments are set to change all of this.

Firstly, we're very excited to report that the Brockley Cross Action Group have secured £100,000 funding to make the Brockley Cross Phase 2 plans a reality. This will involve the creation of a new, landscaped approach on the east side, with a public space, where currently the site is overgrown.

Secondly, as part of the redevelopment of Mantle Road, access on the west side will be widened and given some cosmetic improvements.

Together, these two initiatives should create a much improved bridge between east and west Brockley.

Thirdly, Transport for London have confirmed that they have plans to upgrade all of the stations on the London Overground network, which includes those on the East London Line. Although they were unable to make any further comment at this stage, it's not unreasonable to expect that at least some of this work will be completed by 2010, particularly as the ELL is considered part of the new Olympic transport infrastructure.

We'll hopefully have more news about the Brockley Common project very soon.