Wednesday 23 January 2008

Clapham Junction redevelopment

Metro Shopping Fund have big plans for Clapham Junction station. Or rather, they have big plans for the pokey shopping centre that currently forms the main entrance, since that's the bit they own.

The first thing they're going to do is build a new station entrance further west that connects to the footbridge (the thick white line on the masterplan) rather than the subway (the thin line), and the entrance on the north side will be similarly relocated to a new building. The subway will then be for interchange only, which is the reverse of the current situation.

This is mostly a good thing, since the footbridge is much wider than the subway, but it'll be a longer walk for pretty much everyone. Network Rail will be simultaneously upgrading the footbridge with new stairs and new lifts (first photo), and I'm told they're thinking about realigning the southern boundary, so the currently very curvy platforms that side (second photo) can be straightened out.

Once the entrance is moved, the shopping centre site will be free for redevelopment, and the plan is to flatten the entire block (third photo) and put up two 39 storey towers and a new shopping centre.

The model shown above is on display in a big green portakabin in the shopping centre car park for the next few days. Opening times here.

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