Bakerloo line extension sees renewed push by Lewisham Council

Plans to extend the Bakerloo line beyond the Elephant & Castle have again been pushed by Lewisham Council as part of the “Back the Bakerloo” campaign.

Lewisham council’s leader Mayor Brenda Dacres last week led a discussion alongside Cllr Kieron Williams, Leader of Southwark Council; Patrick Doig (Group Finance Director at TfL); Harriet Shone (Director of London Communications Agency) and Richard Palmer, Development Director from Delancey at the London Real Estate Forum.

They state up to 107,000 new homes could be assisted by a new line. Though having said that, much development is already on the move even without it. See Lewisham Gateway’s phase two with residents now starting to move in.

However many more could be built with improved transport links. The current idea is to extend to Lewisham via the Old Kent Road with two stations plus one at New Cross Gate to facilitate mass hew housing and development.

The line would terminate at Lewisham where housing plans continue to come in. Revised plans for building up to 1,000 homes on Lewisham Retail Park were recently revealed with consultation now underway. That development would be beside any future Bakerloo line worksite.

And also imminent plans for the first stages of Lewisham shopping centre rebuild, with up to 2,500 homes on the cards.

There’s talk that after Lewisham it could take over the Southeastern Metro line down to Hayes.

The only problem is a project on this scale can partly be funded via local revenue but central government funding would be required. And that means Rachel Reeves agreeing.

No government has ever agreed to fund the project since plans emerged almost a century ago for an extension to Camberwell – and subsequent proposals over the decades.

The Old Kent Road

The Old Kent Road is where most new housing is expected to be. Much is already underway but far more could be built with improved transport.

A recent trip along the road showed a fair few major developments underway – and I keep intending to write up on them.

There’s a new mixed-use site near Ilderton Road where many plots have been built.

One such site can be seen here at Tustin Estate and to the rear.

And while large car parks and retail sheds still abound, new builds are sprouting up among as seen below behind Asda.

Berkeley Homes are also building homes at a separate plot near Asda.

That’s at Malt Street with 1,300 homes and the developer saw a £125 million loan from Homes England earlier this year.

There’s plenty others but all along the length of the road and we’d be here all day covering every single one. Use this site’s search box for “Old Kent Road” and many proposes will be shown.

Meanwhile as an interim measure Sadiq Khan announced a bus replicating the route before his re-election. Though since then there’s been little heard.

Running a site alone takes time and a fair bit of money. Adverts are far from enough to cover it and my living costs as a private renter.