Good news for West Hampstead Overground station

When the controversial Ballymore development was first being suggested your Liberal Democrat councillors pressed the developers to include improvements to the Overground station, and finally this public benefit is to be realised.  Transport for London has written to us to outline TfL's proposals for upgrading the station.

Local people may be concerned at yet more loss of trees - four in total - but when we get to see the formal planning application we can all comment on the landscaping and planting that will follow. The extended and widened platforms and the re-modelled station will certainly improve pedestrian movements in and around the station, which will be widely welcomed.

The letter we have received is set out below -

"Dear Councillor,

Proposed Station Improvements at West Hampstead

Transport for London (TfL) is currently working on a proposal for major improvements to West Hampstead London Overground station. The £7m scheme will see the existing station building replaced with a bigger, brighter, more accessible station which is integrated with the forthcoming Ballymore development.

The new station building will be adjacent to the current building, which will be partially removed to allow the pavement in West End Lane to be widened. The station will feature lifts to both platforms, providing step-free access from street-level to platform for those who have difficulty using the stairs. As the current platforms are too narrow for lift shafts to be installed, they must first be widened by a minimum of 3 metres. This will provide the added benefit of relieving congestion on the platform at busy times.

Work to widen the platforms will commence in late spring, together with platform extensions which are necessary to introduce longer, 5-car trains in 2015. Subject to planning permission, work on the new station building will follow in early 2015 and take approximately one year.

I have attached some initial drawings of the proposed station building. Please note that as we are still working on our concept design, these are subject to change prior to the submission of a planning application.

Next Steps

Our architects are working to finalise our initial designs in preparation for the submission of the planning application in spring 2014.

Preparatory works are also being undertaken including ground investigations will be carried out in the coming weeks.

In order to complete the platform and station works, it is necessary to remove four sycamore trees from the railway embankment along the westbound platform. The proximity of these trees to the new station building and platform means that the scheme cannot be completed with them in place. We are currently in discussions with tree officers from the London Borough of Camden regarding these trees and we intend to re-landscape the embankments to the rear of both platforms following the completion of works.

Comments

Prior to the submission of a planning application, we will undertake a consultation to allow passengers and the community to comment on the proposal. In the mean time, f you have any comments or questions about this scheme, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to help.

Yours sincerely,

Gary Nolan, Stakeholder Communications Manager, Rail

TfL | 5th Floor, Palestra, 197 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NJ
(020 3054 8630 (Internal - Auto  88630
garynolan@tfl.gov.uk"