Going down the tube: South Kensington station plans are a one way ticket to over-development

Today is the last day for formal objections to the South Kensington Station redevelopment proposals to be in by. Readers can join us and send your objections in to RBKC via this link

We are also informed that today is the technical deadline, for RBKC’s planning officers to take views into account but that the RBKC Planning Committee will be accepting comments and views from residemts right up until the date this goes to the Committee. (No date has been announced as yet .)

One thing that unites all residents of this borough, North or South, no matter what their political affiliations are or whatever other issues are, is the concern about over-development and the need to preserve the unique character and history of our borough. THINKers might live at the other end of the borough, but the protection and maintenance of our historical features and the character of our residential areas and wanting the very best for our communities is a matter for all.

THINK believe that the controversial plans from TfL and Qatari-based developer Native Land pose a threat to the streetscape, the skyline, and the local community and will change the character of South Kensington for the worse.

Here are just a few reasons why we are opposed to the plans :

– The design and height for the new station is out of place with the location and nearby listed buildings and will dominate the whole of South Kensington, obscuring protected views of the museums from all sides of the area

The proposed 5 storey bullnose is more of an eyesore than a landmark. The Save Our South Kensington website has pictures showing the impact of this here

– It had been reported in some parts of the local news that the redevelopment would bring step-free access to South Kensington station. This is not true. TfL had planned to include lifs from the District and Circle line platform (but not the Piccadilly Line) to a new entrance at Thurloe Street, to increase the size of the District /Circle platform and to upgrade the ticket hall but now they have refused to commit to this; therefore the only real positive in these redevelopment plans has been removed. Residents and visitors alike concerned about the lack of step-free access can make their case to TfL on the Transport For All website here but we think that troubled and tone deaf TfL will be far more preoccupied with their own financial crisis and are very unlikely to listen.

– The developers’ case for providing “affordable” housing has been overstated. In fact they are only planning to provide 27% affordable housing, even though council rules state they must have a minimum of 35%. None of the housing will be for social rent. and they will be demolishing 25 existing homes as part of the plans.

– As for RBKC Planning rules, there appear to be countless breaches of these – and the Save Our South Kensington campaign website has listed them all in detail here:

https://www.saveoursouthkensington.com/planning-breaches

Residents and representatives say no!

A Queen’s Gate resident who was already concerned about the Holiday Inn Forum Hotel in Cromwell Road and what could possibly happen on the Earl’s Court site, said “Plans show tall buildings from South Kensington to Hammersmith with none fitting into the existing streetscape”

Andrew, a resident said “The station design does not fit in with our historical area at all and they will be ruining listed buildings and features for this. It will be an ugly centrepiece for South Kensington that nobody wants”.

Some residents have also told us that they are concerned about Pelham Street the loss of light, the unnecessary extra retail units and the extra waste and disturbance this will bring. They are concerned that this could also encourage crime and anti-social behaviour to the area.

Almost every resident we spoke to on this felt that these plans, especially considering the excessive height and the lack of regard for listed buildings, historical features and protected views, could be a slippery slope to more and bigger development plans coming to the local area.

Cllr Greg Hammond who represents nearby Courtfield Ward, had this to say to us: “I was hoping for a conservation-led approach to the development of South Kensington station, but am bitterly disappointed. The proposal is the antithesis of conservation-led, being a collection of glass and steel buildings that are totally inappropriate right in the middle of a conservation area, and also block protected views of the Grade 1 listed museums and cause some physical damage to the listed station building too in their construction. To add insult to injury, TfL have also cancelled the much-needed capacity improvements to the station, so there are really very few benefits left for residents. I will do everything possible to support local residents make the case to the Planning Committee to reject this application.”

Kensington MP Felicity Buchan, plus a number of other RBKC councillors including Mary Weale, Janet Evans, Quentin Marshall and Sof McVeigh have made it clear that they against the redevelopment proposals too

The Kensington Society have also submitted their objections to the proposals and these have appeared on fellow Kensington blog From The Hornets Nest here

Local groups and residents associations opposed to the plans include Thurloe Owners and Leaseholders Association (TOLA), Pelham Residents Association (PRA), Ovington Square Residents Association, Earl’s Court Square Residents Association, Milner Street Area Residents Association, South Kensington and Queen’s Gate Residents Association, Drayton Neighbourhood Association, Melton Court Residemts Association, SouthKen Station Tenants Association, and South Kensington Busimess Association.

North Kensington stands with South Kensington

THINK believe these proposals sbow no regard for South Kensington, its history, its buildings, local businesses or residents. Instead the only thing that these plans appear to have in mind is bringing in maximum profit for TfL and the developers , which will be at the expense of destroying the character of the local area and bring no benefit whatsoever to either residents or visitors

We call on our readers who share our opposition to these plans to send in your objections to the RBKC Planning Committee and to sign up to the Save Our South Kensington campaign for updates.

Below is another picture of the planned station design which shows just how imposing the new building would be over the whole of the South Kensington and how out of keeping with the character of the area it would be. We stand with the residents of South Kensington and say NO to the plans. We are not outright opposed to any redevelopment of the station per se, but there has to be a better way forward and this is very definitely not it.