Yet more large scale destruction of Fitzrovia may be on its way with the announcement that a large chunk of Rathbone Place could be bulldozed to make way for a station entrance to Crossrail 2, a new underground railway serving London and the south east.
“[Crossrail 2] would connect the National Rail networks in Surrey and Hertfordshire via new tunnels and stations between Wimbledon, Tottenham Hale and New Southgate, linking in with London underground, London Overground, Crossrail 1, national and international rail services. It will add capacity to the regional rail network, cutting journey times across the South East. It will also support economic regeneration by providing the infrastructure needed to support 200,000 new homes and 200,000 new jobs,” says Transport for London.
But the plans will mean yet more destruction and disruption on top of the existing mess and so-called regeneration created by Crossrail 1 with residents and business people in Fitzrovia and Soho on the frontline.
A previous consultation suggested that an area of Rathbone Place bordering Gresse Street could include work to enable the construction of the new underground railway. But the modified plans released for consultation this autumn show that buildings on the corner of Rathbone Place and Oxford Street will be demolished to make way for a new station entrance serving the Tottenham Court Road station which will become a massive interchange for Crossrail, Crossrail 2, and the Central and Northern lines of the London Underground.
Residential and commercial buildings would have to be demolished to make way for the station entrance and a construction site. Transport for London (TfL) say the work on the station would begin during the 2020s and take from five to eight years to complete and open no sooner than 2030.
A Tfl spokesperson told Fitzrovia News that while buildings to the east of Rathbone Place would be demolished the new retail buildings to the west (Rathbone Square development) would be used for construction workers welfare facilities during construction (see area A on the factsheet).
“Proposals for the scheme are still at the early stages of design. Feedback from this and future consultations, together with further design and engineering work, will refine the proposals ahead of seeking permission to build the new railway,” says TfL.
Crossrail 2 factsheet: Tottenham Court Road station (pdf).
There will be a public exhibition of the proposals at St Giles Square, 1 St Giles High Street, London, WC2H 8AG, from 12pm to 8pm Monday 30 November and Tuesday 1 December 2015. The consultation runs until Friday 8 January 2016. Crossrail 2 Consultation website.
Editors note: this page was updated at 15:44 06-11-2015 to include extra information about area A at Rathbone Place.
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