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CAMBERWELL TO GET TUBE?

5 March 2009

John Prendergast
johnp@southwarknews.org

Fresh hope has been breathed into plans to extend the Bakerloo Line from Elephant & Castle up to Camberwell and beyond, after London Mayor Boris Johnson said he wanted to put an expansion of the line firmly back on the agenda.

In the heat of a tough question time grilling from Val Shawcross, the London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark, about his ‘failings’ with regard to the Elephant and Castle regeneration project, the Mayor suddenly mentioned he wanted to resurrect the scheme.

In assembly the Mayor said: "I think it was only the other day that I was describing to you [Val Shawcross] the potential of extending the Bakerloo Line for instance, which is something we should drag onto the agenda."
Mayor Johnson faced accusations that he and Transport for London (TfL) were holding up the £1.5billion project Elephant and Castle project, by not detailing costings of replacing roundabouts and work on existing tube station in a timely manner, but he caught the attention of the assembly with his proclamation.

When grilled on whether the route would be extended as far as Lewisham, and how firm plans were he said: "I have ambitions in that directions (to extend to Lewisham), and I am sure it will be something that will be part of long term ambitions, and medium term ambitions, for this city."

The Mayor, (pictured), added: "We have a package up to 2017, but we have to demonstrate to central government we have ambitions beyond that and particular for south London. We need to protract those tube lines into south London."
He added that TfL had already done some work on the project, and it was definitely on their drawing board as far as he was concerned.

Speaking after question time to the 'News' Ms Shawcross said: "We of course would love to have the scheme, but it doesn't do anything for people in Peckham Rye who have lost the tram. Also how can he say he can afford the tube if he dumped the cross river tram because the tube would cost three times as much? I am sceptical because he likes a headline but lets see what he comes up with."

Southwark's executive member for regeneration, Cllr Paul Noblet, said he would support Mayor Johnson if was genuine about the project, but again he would wait to see how plans develop.
The news will once again prick up the ears of Camberwell residents, who have campaigned for the extension and a station for decades with no result.

Campaspe Lloyd-Jacob, chair of the Camberwell Society said: "I am worried that our hopes are being raised unnecessarily again, because we have been campaigning for a tube for decades.
"If there is any chance of this happening we would whole heartedly back anything that would make it more likely to happen."

President of the society Jeremy Bennett also expressed his support for any positive action, but years of campaigning clearly came to mind when he added: "I will believe it when I see it."

Debate has long raged about how far, and what direction, the existing Bakerloo line is extended underground.
One school claim it extends down the New Kent Road to the Bricklayers Arms. While other historians claim that the line already extends below Camberwell Green, although TfL have never confirmed which is correct.