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WALTHAMSTOW: Renewed calls to re-open station

RE-OPENING a "ghost station" which closed exactly 25 years ago could revitalise a run down part of Walthamstow, it has been claimed.

London Assembly member Jennette Arnold, Chingford Line Users Association chairman Peter Woodrow and Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy examinng the disused Lea Bridge Station earlier today. London Assembly member Jennette Arnold, Chingford Line Users Association chairman Peter Woodrow and Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy examing the disused Lea Bridge Station earlier today.

Campaigners argue that a functional Lea Bridge station, which was shut in 1985, would stimulate economic growth in south west Walthamstow and connect the area to Stratford's rapid Olympics-inspired redevelopment, including its future links with the new Crossrail line and Eurostar.

Dozens of trains pass through the disused station every day, on their way to and from Stratford, Tottenham Hale and Stansted Airport, following a revival of part of the line in 2005.

Peter Woodrow, chairman of the Chingford Line Users Association, said: “If it was re-opened it would provide a very easy link for lots of people to get to and from Stratford.

“Anyone who's ever tried to get the bus from Walthamstow to Stratford will tell you it takes a very long time, and when trains are running through the station anyway it would not take a huge amount of effort to provide this change, which would have such an impact.”

British Rail officially closed the station in July 1985 amid claims it was under-used.

But campaigners argue Lea Bridge was deliberately run into the ground in order to save money.

Mr Woodrow said: “By the time of its closure there was only one train every two hours, and they were still using diesel trains at a time when most of London's other lines were electrified.

“Much of the station had also run into a state of disrepair.”

Campaigners are now pinning their hopes on a review by Network Rail of potential spending projects for the years 2014 and 2019, which is due to be decided in 2012.

But one estimate from the organisation puts the cost of re-opening the station and developing it to comply with recent disability accessibility laws at more than £4 million, a figure campaigners dispute as being “excessive”.

Mr Woodrow, whose campaign has gained the backing of Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy and London Assembly member Jennette Arnold, added: “We do know that this may be difficult because of budget pressures, but we are hopeful and we'll never give up.”

The campaigners say they would also ideally like to see the re-opening of the Hall Farm Curve line which used to link Chingford and Stratford via Lea Bridge Station until its closure in 1967, although they accept this may be more unlikely to achieve in the current economic climate.

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Comments (12)

27/07/10

mortgageman says...

good luck people - lets hope this station re-opens but with the massive budget cuts I seriously doubt it.

27/07/10

Techno2 says...

It's a pity that laws supposed to enable disabled people to use public facilities are now being used as an excuse to deny public facilities to everyone.

27/07/10

John001 says...

I think the whole 'disability laws' excuse could be a smokescreen in this case. I understand that NEW stations must include access for disabled people, but does this apply to the reopening of existing stations?

27/07/10

SurvivorMentality says...

This looks like a clear example of what Mr Cameron & Mr Clegg are supposedly trying to encourage us to do as part of the "Big Society" - local people getting involved in trying to improve their area and local services.

Hopefully the Olympics in 2012 will prove to be to their advantage and it will be noticed by those in a position to do something about it.

27/07/10

andychurchill says...

I think their cause would be helped massively if they could put a proposal together to identify a business case for re-opening the station, not just in providing easy commuting to stratford or chingford but in conjunction with redevelopment projects in the area surrounding the station.

It's a bit difficult to identify any possible locations for that kind of redevelopment plan due to it's proximity to the lea valley nature area, but if they could propose CPO s around Lammas Road, Rigg Approach, Argall Way, Orient Way, etc, then they would probably stand a chance. Of course, they'd have opposition from existing businesses in the area, and would have to go through all manner of red-tape and budgeting that would no doubt go well over their original budget.

But I imagine the residents of the more recent housing that has sprung up at North and South Mill fields, just past the River Lee, would at least find a use for the station.

27/07/10

Quintilis says...

Good to see our two local senior Labour representatives supporting this issue, as I know they have for a long time. With the will, re-opening this station looks like a long weekend's work. Accepting that the Hall Farm Curve reinstatement is a longer term project the reopening af Lea Bridge Road station, along with more frequent trains to Stratford, would at least provide a good link both to the Olympics and to Stratford City. Residents of Walthamstow and Chingford could pick up a train at Tottenham Hale via the Victoria Line and residents of Leyton in the Lea Bridge Road/Bakers Arms area could pick up a train at Lea Bridge Road Station. With two years to go to the Olympics surely finding £4m is do-able.

28/07/10

Techno2 says...

Quintilis wrote:
Good to see our two local senior Labour representatives supporting this issue, as I know they have for a long time. With the will, re-opening this station looks like a long weekend's work. Accepting that the Hall Farm Curve reinstatement is a longer term project the reopening af Lea Bridge Road station, along with more frequent trains to Stratford, would at least provide a good link both to the Olympics and to Stratford City. Residents of Walthamstow and Chingford could pick up a train at Tottenham Hale via the Victoria Line and residents of Leyton in the Lea Bridge Road/Bakers Arms area could pick up a train at Lea Bridge Road Station. With two years to go to the Olympics surely finding £4m is do-able.
I've never picked up a train at Tottenham Hale. Firstly, they are too heavy. Secondly, the so-called Stratford International station doesn't even have trains go anywhere international, so why bother, as Stratford itself is not a very nice destination.

28/07/10

techiebabe says...

Firstly I should say as a local resident I would love to see this station reopen along with the Hall Farm Curve. I attend the council Transport Liaison Committee and this is close to my heart.

Secondly, as a disabled person, let me clarify a little. The Disability Discrimination Act says you must make "reasonable adjustments". If a station is being overhauled, it is "reasonable" to expect it to include the provision of disabled access in this. Exemptions would be if a building was listed, so necessary building work was not permitted, or if the owner would be bankrupted by the cost of the work. Otherwise it is reasonable to expect it to go ahead.

However you would still consider what is possible and be reasonable when looking at potential solutions. Perhaps the stairs could be fitted to include a wheelchair lift, rather than needing extensive works to fit a lift in the station. There are a range of options and I would be sad to see the need for disabled access and equality to be dragged out as an excuse for not reopening the station.

Flash Bristow, chair of Waltham Forest Mobility Forum.

28/07/10

andychurchill says...

Techno2 wrote:
Quintilis wrote:
Good to see our two local senior Labour representatives supporting this issue, as I know they have for a long time. With the will, re-opening this station looks like a long weekend's work. Accepting that the Hall Farm Curve reinstatement is a longer term project the reopening af Lea Bridge Road station, along with more frequent trains to Stratford, would at least provide a good link both to the Olympics and to Stratford City. Residents of Walthamstow and Chingford could pick up a train at Tottenham Hale via the Victoria Line and residents of Leyton in the Lea Bridge Road/Bakers Arms area could pick up a train at Lea Bridge Road Station. With two years to go to the Olympics surely finding £4m is do-able.
I've never picked up a train at Tottenham Hale. Firstly, they are too heavy. Secondly, the so-called Stratford International station doesn't even have trains go anywhere international, so why bother, as Stratford itself is not a very nice destination.
"I've never picked up a train at Tottenham Hale. Firstly, they are too heavy. Secondly, the so-called Stratford International station doesn't even have trains go anywhere international, so why bother, as Stratford itself is not a very nice destination."

@Techno2: You're being very short sighted here. I wouldn't rule out this move so easily, given it will take a while for any re-opening to come to fruition, by which time, In 2 years and beyond, the Stratford area will be stepping out of the shadow of it's former self, and becoming a hub for city and docklands workers.

With the Westfield shopping centre, the obvious regeneration caused by the Olympics, and the further proposed regeneration plans for the borough of Newham, it's not inconceivable that Stratford will be a very nice place to live/go.

Whether there's enough attraction to entice Walthamstow/Chingfor
d residents there is another matter, but it all depends on what's on offer, other than the stadium, the shopping centre, and the picture house cinema.

It's this influx of residents and workers in the area that will in turn re-ignite the possibility of stratford becoming an international launchpad.

And I as I say, I wonder if there are regeneration possibilities around the Lea Bridge Area that would make having a station there more beneficial?

28/07/10

Techno2 says...

I admire your optimisms and do hope that what you wish for comes about. I do not plan to share it with you however. I suspect that the 10000 extra people who will move into the Olympic village will find the reality of this 'regeneration' somewhat wanting.

I personally do not look forward to shopping in Stratford, as I suspect the place will be a bland deadzone of the same old same old chain stores, all set in public spaces which even the flattering artists' impressions already suggest to me could easily deteriorate into a barren
mugger's paradise. I hope for everyone's sakes I am wrong, but do recognise that no everyone can be as lucky as to live in a place as wondeful as Walthamstow. ;)

29/07/10

leytonstoner says...

This would be a much needed public transport service that is painfully lacking in that end of the borough and a ready made solution - why it isn't obvious to the faceless bureaucrats is only to be expected - and with the olympics on its doorstep. Oops did i mention the Olympics

29/07/10

Quintilis says...

What a sad, circumscribed life you must lead, Techno2, if Walthamstow is the height of your aspirations! To compound your leaden attempt at wit, your analysis of the future for Stratford is also pretty witless, as is your dismissal of its potential attractions. I gather Westfield's Stratford City will be the largest such shopping centre in Europe and, whilst that does nothing for me personally, easy access to Stratford's 'Culture Quarter' (Theatre Royal/Picture House/Stratford Circus) is very appealling, especially as Waltham Forest is unlikely to have any such facilities any time soon, if ever. I'm sure Stratford International Station will live up to its name eventually, if only as a result of commercial pressures from Westfield, but it is the access to jobs, leisure and culture that makes the reopening of Lea Bridge Station and, hopefully, the eventual reinstatement of the Hall Farm Curve so vital. Residents of Waltham Forest are paying for the regeneration of Stratford so we should at least be able to enjoy the benefits by easy access to it.