Cabinet agree £5m towards step free access and other improvements at Alperton Station. Lib Dems claim campaigning success.

Brent Cabinet this morning agreed a £5m payment towards the cost of step free access to to Alperton Station,  mainly funded by Transport for London.  The proposals are for lifts to the platforms rather than bringing the hidden escalator back into use. Other improvements include the toilets. The proposal will involve the loss of the barber shop at on the left of the station forecourt.

The Cabinet were told that the improvements were necessary because of the new building in the Alperton Growth Area  increasing the densification of the area. Cllr Muhammed Butt claimed this was a good use of Strategic CIL contributed by developers to improve infrastucture in areas of development..

The Cabinet Report gives details:

The station has a disused escalator currently hidden from view which accesses the main ticket hall and formerly served the east bound platform. TfL is proposing to use this space to provide one of the platform lifts. Additional space made available on the east bound platform will include some updated waiting facilities.

Delivery of the lift for the west bound platform is more complicated, due to the limited public access only currently provided from the main ticket hall under the underground lines. This, which provides access to the stairs, cannot be modified to incorporate access to a lift. Creating an additional adjacent tunnel under the lines will be prohibitively expensive due to the made ground nature of the structure above. It would also be very disruptive possibly requiring line or station closure. So, TfL will instead use a tunnel structure that currently is made inaccessible on the eastern side by the commercial unit (barbers) currently visible on the station frontage. This commercial unit will need to be removed, and access provided through it from the main ticket hall to a lift. TfL will conduct appropriate negotiations with the current tenant. The shopfront feature will be retained.

In addition to these changes, to address current passenger flow capacity issues at peak times, the number of barrier gates will also be increased. Off the main ticket hall three toilets will also be provided, one of which will be of accessible design, and all of which will incorporate baby changing facilities.

Alperton Liberal Demcrats put out a press release claiming the decision was a win for their campaigning:

The Liberal Democrats are celebrating a major win for Alperton as Brent Council has finally approved a long-overdue upgrade to Alperton Underground Station.

Thanks to years of persistent campaigning— by Liberal Democrat Councillors in Brent and Lib Dem London Assembly Member Hina Bokhari — Alperton Station is now set for a transformational refurbishment including:

●      Step-free access to make the station fully accessible for everyone, including those with mobility issues, parents with buggies, and older passengers.

●      Increased number of ticket gates to ease overcrowding and reduce daily congestion at peak times.

●      Upgraded, fully accessible toilet facilities for a safer, more dignified experience for all passengers

The works are projected to start in 2026, and be completed in 2027. Current plans assume the station will be able to remain open. 

Alperton councillor, Charlie Clinton said:

This is a huge win for local residents who’ve been ignored for too long.  Alperton has been the site of hundreds of new flats, and while we do need more homes, this has strained local services to the limit. These upgrades are way past due.

But it is not yet enough.  Brent Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for the investment Alperton deserves - including more Tubes running through the station, a new Health Centre, revamped roads and pavements, and real action to clean up our streets.    

Alperton Bridgewater Road high-rise development approved

Cllr Anton Georgiou (Lib Dem, Alperton ward) told the planning committee that the proposed high-rise development on the Saab showroom site on Bridgewater Road LINK was felt by residents to be 'unneeded, unwanted and unnecessary.'

He said that the 'mini-city' developing around Alperton station was changing the character of the area. The Bridgewater Road proposal was in an area where the majorrity of housing was two storey homes. There were developing problems of traffic levels and the application would contribute to further congestion.  He asked if the £4.4m CIL money raised by the development would actually be spent in the area.

He reported a young resident who had told him,  'Alperton is a place to sleep - not to live.'

Georgiou echoed Paul Lorber's call LINK for the suspension of high-rise development until links with Alperton's high Covid19 rates had been established, including the role of communal areas in high rise blocks in the transmission of the virus.

Cllr Trupti Sangani (Labour, Alperton) said she had seen no improvement in Alperton via CIL spending and called for step free access at Alperton station. The Transport Officer said that this single development was not enough to trigger such a demand as increased footfall following approval would be neglible. Improvements were being sought for nearby bus routes.

It appeared from the developer's response that Alperton School had not been directly consulted about the development which will partially over-shadow the school's site.

There was a discussion regarding how each development on its own would not have an impact but it was the cumulative impact of all the high-rise blocks that was important.  Officers referred to the Alperton Growth Area Policy but it was unclear whether the need for station and train frequency improvements would only happen late in the day, when the new housing was already occupied.

The  Growth Area plans included public spacse, canal improvments new play areas, a new nursery, community spaces and road and junction improvements.

Cllr Sangani referred to problems of anti-social behaviour along the canal side in Alperton and said officers should be raising these issues when they spoke to developers. She was told that things would improve when there was natural surveilliance from the blocks overlooking the can and when the link between all the developments in a wide canal side path had been completed.

The Canals and Rivers Trust could apply to the Council for CIL money to make improvements.

So far the Alperton developments had gained over £14m CIL money for Brent Council, 15% (about £2m) was allocated for Neighbourhood CIL. Chair of Planning Committee, Cllr James Denselow, said that this raised the wider issue of whether CIL money should be spent in the area from which it was raised, or across the borough. This was not a decision for the Planning Commitee nut for the Executive.

The main selling points put forward by the developer was what they claimed was 100% affordable housing and the creation of 120-150 new jobs in the industrial component od the scheme. They stressed their close working relationship with the Council developed through their other schemes in the area.

Councillors were told that their decisions had to be on the merits of the application and they could not make the deision on wider issues and pre-existing local conditions.  Cllr  Denselow, told members of the committee that it was 'tricky' as to an extent they had to take their ward councillor hat off when making decisions.

Officers warned that if they made decisions beyond strictly planning issues they could open the Council to appeals and financial penalties.

Cllr Michael Maurice voted against the application on grounds of his opposition to high rise and was reminde by Cllr Denselow about the danger of pre-determining applications. Maurice was also concerned about the transport implications, Cllr Sangani abstained.