Update on planned London Overground station at Surrey Canal Road given by council

Lewisham Council’s Cabinet next week will discuss the latest state of play with long-held plans for a new London Overground station at Surrey Canal Road.

A funding gap remains and a council report notes income from new development should be used to help construct the station. In particular using Community Infrastructure Levy revenue.

Passive provision was made for the station when the London Overground opened in 2010. Funding was announced in 2018 via central government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (which also helps fund some of the new DLR trains).

By 2021 the project to build a station had been paused when the London Overground upgrade was split into two phases.

In 2024 an agreement was made that developer Renewal would offer £25 million in return for reducing “affordable” housing on site though further funds are required.

Phase one of the London Overground / East London Line project continues elsewhere which includes an increase in trains per hour from 16 to 20 through the core tunnel section below the Thames.

Another aspect of phase one prioritised above Surrey Canal Road station plans was a second entrance to Surrey Quays station owing to the Canada Water project.

The above image shows the first tower built as part of the scheme. Around 3,000 homes are planned with the 1980s shopping centre set for demolition.

Housing

Major new developments in the Surrey Canal Road area dependent on a new railway station include 3,500 homes at “New Bermondsey” located both around and near Millwall’s New Den ground.

There is currently a “Grampian condition” after phase 1 of the scheme (600 units) which prohibits further development until the station at Surrey Canal has been delivered.

Looking across a wider area the station could support 8,400 new homes.

To the west in Southwark borough sits the Tustin Estate which is currently seeing 690 new homes added to the estate. The southern end of the Old Kent Road and Ilderton Road are already seeing substantial amounts of new homes.

The absence of any agreement for a Bakerloo line extension makes it all the more critical to build a new station – though it’s far from enough to make up for a lack of a high capacity tube link the length of the Old Kent Road.

Much housing along the Old Kent Road is also proposed to the north some way from Surrey Canal Road station.

South Bermondsey station is also situated nearby and sees four Southern services per hour to London Bridge taking just four to five minutes, though access to the station is poor.

That is set to be improved though the station – and services – are not capable of handling thousands of new residents.

New blocks are also underway to the east of the proposed station close to Deptford, with one student block nearing completion.

A tower on Apollo Business centre has also been approved. Earlier this summer Lewisham Council announced they would procure 42 units as part of the project which includes a 26-floor tower.

Timescales

According to the report TfL have remobilised work on the project and the station could open in 2030.

Subject to further funds via the Community Infrastructure Levy design work would commence in early 2026 and complete in early 2028 followed by two years of construction.

By that time almost twenty years would have passed since initial building work saw the station box and platform foundations built in advance of further construction.