Bromley Council says Bakerloo Line extension to Hayes is 'unacceptable'

Under the proposal, which could be implemented in the 2030s and cost up to £3bn, the Underground service would run to Lewisham before taking over the existing Hayes line which connects the area to London Bridge.

After Lewisham Council published an extremely enthusiastic response to Transport for London's consultation on the plans this month, News Shopper asked Bromley Council for theirs.

We were sent a copy a letter from the council's deputy leader Councillor Colin Smith to London's Deputy Mayor for Transport Isabel Dedring - which the council says is its response to the consultation.

The letter states the council is "very pleased" that Lewisham station could have its capacity increased and is "broadly supportive" of Bakerloo being extended as far as Lewisham.

But it says the council's key priority is a DLR extension to Bromley North and South - providing a link to Canary Wharf and east London - plus a Tramlink extension as part of the Crystal Palace regeneration.

And the letter goes on to say: "We were therefore rather disappointed to find that instead of either, a proposal to run the Bakerloo line to Hayes was instead tabled, at considerably greater expense than our preferences for DLR and Tramlink combined, which we have been previously advised were too expensive.

"In addition to the scheme replacing existing infrastructure which works well, rather than providing extra/new capacity, we are simply unable to support the proposal, certainly in full, as it would deny direct access to London termini to a vast swathe of Bromley residents living along Hayes Line corridor, a significant number of whom purchased their properties with that connectivity in mind.

"We also cannot accept that the Hayes line’s access to London Bridge should be taken away to create extra capacity for other services travelling in from deeper Kent. 

"It is completely unacceptable that the interests of local people paying significant amounts in Mayoral precept should be set aside for benefit of others who do not."

However, the council also stated that an extension to New Beckenham, spurring off towards Bromley South, could be a project they "could get behind".

The news comes after Lewisham councillors discussed the extension last night, with one calling for Bromley Council to "get out of the way". Last year, Sydenham's Councillor Liam Curran branded the council's hostility to the idea "bonkers".

Full text of Bromley's response

Further to our conversations on Transport related matters over the course of many months, and mindful of your own recent consultation regarding the potential extension of the Bakerloo Line to Hayes, I felt it might be helpful to re-state Bromley Council’s policy position and future preferences on the record at this time, should any capital funding become available for key infrastructure projects.

Before doing so however and on a very positive note, we were extremely encouraged to recently learn that some thought is now being given to major investment in and improving transport links to this part of SE London/NW Kent.

We were also very pleased to hear that further serious thought is now to be given to the potential for engineeringworks at Lewisham Station with an eye to increasing its capacity. We strongly agree that anything which can be done at this strategically vital Junction is of key importance to the whole sub-region.

Of the extension of the Bakerloo line to Lewisham, we are also broadly supportive, mindful of the fact that it offers Bromley residents further options and transport choices in addition to those currently provided by DLR.

At that point however, I regret that our respective visions do appear to diverge.

Bromley’s key priority as you know, remains an extension of the DLR to Bromley North (and ideally Bromley South), a vision supported by the Mayor for London and promised for attention in his 2012 Election manifesto.

We continue to appreciate and fully understand that some compromises might prove necessary around the precise specifications and routing of the line, potentially including the New Cross Option, but it is absolutely essential in our view that a direct connection to Canary Wharf and the emerging East London corridor be established to provide Bromley residents (and those from deeper Kent too, if the link to Bromley South were to prove possible) with access to all of the benefits and employment opportunities both will offer over future decades.

It is also the case that were such a link to be established, it would provide Bromley Town Centre with an opportunity to develop into a back office hub of excellence, providing further job opportunities for people in the sub region. Another key local aspiration.

Such a connection would of course also serve to considerably reduce pressure on the Jubilee Line.

Our second priority, certainly assuming that our shared vision of the regeneration of Crystal Palace comes to fruition, being to see Tramlink  extended to that location.

We were therefore rather disappointed to find that instead of either, a proposal to run the Bakerloo line to Hayes was instead tabled, at considerably greater expense than our preferences for DLR and Tramlink combined, which we have been previously advised were too expensive.

In addition to the scheme replacing existing infrastructure which works well, rather than providing extra/new capacity, we are simply unable to support the proposal, certainly in full, as it would deny direct access to London termini to a vast swathe of Bromley residents living along Hayes Line corridor, a significant number of whom purchased their properties with that connectivity in mind.

We also cannot accept that the Hayes line’s access to London Bridge should be taken away to create extra capacity for other services travelling in from deeper Kent. 

It is completely unacceptable that the interests of local people paying significant amounts in Mayoral precept should be set aside for benefit of others who do not.

That said, if it were possible to extend the Bakerloo line down as far as New Beckenham, to then spur off towards Bromley South, this could be something we could get behind and support, providing the existing direct links were maintained in some form of a track sharing arrangement.

In closing, if it is possible for somebody within the project team to clarify precisely where the Bakerloo line train depots are intended to be sited, I would be extremely grateful to hear in due course please.