Crossrail Woolwich scheme may be back on the agenda

Prospects for a key London public transport project that has significant regeneration implications for east London have been boosted by a deal which could see a new station being built at Woolwich after delays and the DfT’s lack of support for the original plan.

This latest deal involves agreement in principle between developer Berkeley Homes and Greenwich council over development at the proposed station site at Woolwich, which would become part of the ambitious Crossrail project. Crossrail is a planned new rail link running east-west across the capital, linking Maidenhead in Berkshire to Shenfield in Essex via Heathrow Airport and tunnels under London.

Construction on the project, which was first proposed in 1989, should start this year, with trains operational by 2015.

Key to this deal is the London borough's proposal to revise its spatial plan, so allowing a significant higher density of development at Woolwich.

As a result of this move Berkeley Homes has offered a way of enabling a station to be built at Woolwich, but crucially without adding to the current cost of the Crossrail project.

Earlier this year ministers ruled out the provision of a new station at Woolwich on the grounds that the estimated £186 million cost could not be justified.

Under the deal Berkeley would build the basic box structure for a station at Woolwich and then construct its own development overhead.

In due course Berkeley Homes would arrange for the completion of the station box to full operational status. Its completion would be conditional on receiving funding contributions from those developers and businesses which would stand to benefit from a Crossrail station at Woolwich.

Transport secretary Douglas Alexander told Parliament: ‘More work needs to be done to flesh out this deal but the House can now have sufficient confidence that Berkeley and Greenwich council have the commitment and the right incentives to do that.

‘This is a very significant change from the position last October as there is now a clear way forward that can deliver a station at Woolwich without adding to the costs of Crossrail already identified.’

This news followed the publication of Sir Michael Lyons' report on local government which has suggested a way forward for part-funding the cost of the £10 billion Crossrail project.

Council leader Chris Roberts said: ‘Nothing can cement the regeneration of Woolwich more than the inclusion of a Crossrail station. The service could operate at five minute intervals and place Woolwich just seven minutes from Canary Wharf, 15 minutes from Tottenham Court Road and less than 45 minutes from Heathrow.’