Brockley Common project seeks Mayor's blessing
On Wednesday, Lewisham Mayor Steve Bullock will be asked by Council officials to endorse funding for the emerging strategy for station improvements along the extended East London Line and, in particular, to authorise £146,000 of the the Council’s Capital Programme (CCP) fund to finance Phase 1 of the Brockley Common project.
The money will be spent on Phase 1 of the Common project, as a precursor to an emerging long term scheme for the station. This work will deliver a new ramp and steps to the ticket office and links to the main footbridge that provides access to Mantle Road. The proposed 1:20 ramp would provide wheelchair and buggy access to the upper level. It would replace the existing steep 1:4 ramp up to the down ticket office.
The recommendation notes the "wide support from the local community" following the excellent and painstaking work of the Brockley Cross Action Group, that planning permission has been granted, that £71,000 has already been secured and that it will help the station meet disabled access requirements:
Planning Permission for Brockley Common was given in February 2008. The Council made a successful application under the small schemes Access for All funding to implement the scheme, and £71k towards the cost of the proposal was agreed. This funding is available up until March 2009, but only becomes available on completion of the scheme. Brockley station has also been included in the "Access for All" programme, which may result in major changes to the stations, particularly to the footbridge link between the two platforms. Access for All works are scheduled for completion in the 2012 to 2015 period.
And the report holds out hope that there could be an end to the farcical twin bridge arrangement that particularly annoys those on the west of the station:
TfL( Borough Partnerships) have indicated that they would be willing to consider a scheme to improve access either side of the station and funding is available to improve access to and from the station as part of the London Cycle network. Officers have undertaken some outline
design work, on access routes to the station. TfL would be willing to consider a further Station access bid, via SELTRANS for 2009/10 that would need to cover access routes to the station and take into account safety issues and access by modes. The narrow pedestrian route forms part of the London Cycle Network and a some improvements have been suggested. There are currently no plans to widen this bridge.
In total, the Council has £730,000 to spend on enhancing station access along the route of the extended East London Line, which is on-course to open in June 2010.
The responsibility of running the stations included on the new line will be transferred to TfL in September 2009, which means that Brockley Station itself will benefit from a package improvements, focusing on two areas:
- Ambiance: Refurbishment work to achieve roughly "as new" condition, with deep cleaning.
- Systems: Modern public address system, signage, customer information system and CCTV, station lighting, security and signage on and off the station including onward travel.
