Hither Green station to get new lifts to replace steep wheelchair ramp

Plans to build new footbridges, lifts and entrances at Hither Green station were approved by a Lewisham Council planning committee on Tuesday, March 14. 

Passengers to the station currently have to rely on stairs to reach its six platforms. While part of the station is accessible by a ramp, it is too steep for wheelchairs. 

Hither Green will get new lifts and footbridges

The refurbishment will be funded with a share of a £300 million pound pot the Department for Transport has set aside to make railway stations more disabled friendly.

The works, which will be carried out by Network Rail, will see four new 16-person lifts built at the station, which will allow travellers to reach every platform without using steps.

New entrances to the station, which welcomes 3.3 million passengers per year, will be created on Fernbrook Road and Springbank Road. 

Speaking in favour of the plans, Jenny Marsden, a local resident who has lived in the area for five years, told the council planning meeting that the lack of lifts at the station made it dangerous. 

She said: “Currently four out of six platforms at the station are only accessible by steps making it really difficult for people with mobility issues, but it’s also a massive safety issue for everyone else using the station.

"Whilst part of the station is accessible by a ramp, this is non-compliant, it’s too steep for users.

"For those with health issues like my parents, they drive when they come to visit me in Hither Green because they can’t take the train, they can’t get up and down the stairs…

"I’ve also helped parents with small children who’ve got prams get up and down the stairs.

"But this is a bit of a risk. I can fall, I can slip, I don’t want to drop a pram with a child in it.”

Lewisham Council previously approved plans for the station works in April 2022, without the project going before councillors to vote on.

But officials were forced to backtrack after some local residents challenged the decision, arguing the proposals should have gone before a planning committee.

Paul Howarth, a Hither Green resident of six years who spoke in favour of the plans alongside Ms Marsden, said the extra delays meant Network Rail and the council had been hit by extra costs.

He added: “Ultimately this project is at risk and it is prolonging barriers and inconvenience to the most vulnerable in our community… just because some people don’t want to look at a new structure.” 

No residents spoke against the plans at the meeting, but Charlotte Hughes, who has lived in Hither Green for a decade, said she was worried that the proposed lifts were too close to the existing stairs.

She said: “My experience…  is that it’s usually much easier for those with mobility concerns to access lifts when they’re not in conjunction with staircases.

"I say that because… if you’re going to a lift and there are lots of other people at the same time, it can feel overwhelming and difficult to make your way to the lift.”

Hither Green station was one of 73 stations across the country given priority cash by the government for works to make it more accessible, according to Kate Warner from Network Rail.

She told the meeting: “The existing station ramp to the platforms is extraordinarily steep. It is not easy for a large number of passengers to use and it is not easy for people to interchange at the station as well.

"We believe the accessibility improvements we’ve put forward would benefit large numbers of the community.”

An all-Labour Lewisham Council planning committee passed the plans unanimously.