Lewisham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Lewisham Council will debate using money from local developments to help cover a funding gap for a new London Overground station near Millwall FC’s ground.
The Cabinet of Lewisham Council is scheduled to approve the use of Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy (SCIL) funds to support the construction of Surrey Canal station at a meeting next week (September 10).
When the Overground line was expanded to Clapham Junction in the early 2010s, the station by Millwall Football stadium was first suggested. It would be situated on the Windrush line between Queens Road Peckham and Surrey Quays.
They covered Millwall FC’s “exciting” plans to construct 3,500 houses and a new London Overground station close to The Den last year.
Lewisham Council adopted a revised version of the £1.9 billion plan on July 31, 2024, although it had been in existence since January 2022.
The Surrey Canal station has been deemed “critical” to maximizing the area’s housing potential and enhancing connection for both current and prospective residents.
In addition to helping to provide the borough with the infrastructure it needs, including new schools, hospitals, social care facilities, and transportation, SCIL enables local authorities to raise money from developers working on nearby projects.
If TfL gets the necessary financing, the SCIL funds would be used to help with the station’s detailed design, which would start in early 2026 and be finished in early 2028.
Construction of the station would then start, pending closing the existing budget deficit, and should be completed in about two years.
The government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) awarded a grant to Transport for London (TfL) in 2018 for six projects along the Windrush line, including the construction of a new station at Surrey Canal Road.
However, plans for Surrey Canal station were put on hold in 2021 due to severe budgetary constraints, and other projects were given priority. Surrey Canal station was included in the second phase of the program, which had to be divided into two stages.
Phase one funding projects include enhancements to the traction power and signalling that have enabled the increase in trains from 16 to 20 per hour, as well as new step-free station access at Surrey Quays station.
The developer, Renewal Group, gave TfL £25 million last year to build about 3,500 new houses in South Bermondsey; however, the quantity of “affordable” housing that would be constructed on the property has since been lowered.
TfL is to bid for more HIF funds to help support the delivery of phase two, per a Cabinet report that will be reviewed by Lewisham’s leadership next week. At a meeting next week, it is suggested that cabinet members authorize the usage of SCIL to help finance the station’s delivery.
How will Lewisham Council use developer contributions to cover the station funding gap?
Lewisham Council is proposing to use developer contributions, such as Section 106 funding and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funding, to pay for the funding shortfall for the new London Overground station to the north of the Millwall Football Ground.
Developer contributions are payments, or in-kind works, that are negotiated with developers as part of their planning permissions in exchange for lessening the impact of new developments on local infrastructure.
Lewisham Council has agreed with Renewal Group, developer of the Surrey Canal Triangle scheme adjacent to the football ground, for £25 million of developer contributions toward the construction of the station. This £25 million is part of the planning obligations relating to the larger residential and commercial developments surrounding the football ground.