Kensington & Chelsea (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Kensington & Chelsea Council pledges £12 million to revamp a busy, overcrowded Tube station, aiming to improve accessibility at a major tourist destination.
In an uncommon move, a council has offered to contribute to the reconstruction of a regularly packed Tube station.
Ten percent of the more than £100 million price to make South Kensington station step-free has been offered by Kensington and Chelsea council.
The Tory-run authority has requested financial assistance from Imperial College, the nearby Westminster Council, and significant local cultural institutions.
With almost 27.7 million entrances and exits in 2024, South Kensington station ranks as the 17th busiest Tube station in London.
It serves as the entryway to top attractions like the V&A, Royal Albert Hall, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum.
By 2029, Transport for London hopes to make the station, which is served by the Circle, District, and Piccadilly lines, fully accessible and expand its capacity.
Its plans are unfunded, though, and government assistance would be required to help defray the costs.
In a March letter to Kensington and Chelsea leader Elizabeth Campbell, TfL requested a financial contribution from the council, citing step-free renovations to Colindale and Leyton stations as justification.
In response, Ms. Campbell said last week that she would pay up to £12 million of the amount.
Ms. Campbell warned that the plans would fail without numerous sources of money and that a “team effort” was required in a letter to Adam Hug, the Labour leader of Westminster Council.
She said:
“It is a station of real national importance with over 30 million people passing through every year to access world class museums, universities, parks, cultural venues, hospitals and of course many homes across both our boroughs.
The fact that it is unusable for many residents and visitors is simply not tolerable.
Given the importance of South Kensington to TfL’s network, it is right that they are the majority funders.
However, as I said to TfL, this needs to be a team effort. Other key stakeholders, including Westminster City Council, cannot just rely on Kensington and Chelsea Council, TfL and the Government to deliver this much needed upgrade. As such, I am asking you to make a similar commitment to the project.”
She added:
“Without a strong show of support from Westminster council, I fear that the project will be put at risk and an opportunity to make one of London’s most important stations accessible for all will be missed.”
Her intervention follows the efforts of Joe Powell, the Labour MP for Kensington and Baywater, to secure support within Parliament for the station upgrade.
Transport for London (TfL) is requesting £60 million in government money to help finish the project, which is expected to cost over £110 million in total.
This massive infrastructure renovation will benefit the station’s 30 million passengers annually and provide better access to local cultural attractions like the Natural History Museum and the V&A. The council’s £12 million donation is a significant local contribution to this project.
The improvement is thought to be necessary to accommodate future passenger increases and to bring South Kensington up to speed with top-tier metro stations like Paris’s Louvre.
Ongoing attempts to value-engineer the plan to cut costs while maintaining the station’s identity have been hampered by the project’s delays and debate over design and historic issues.
A spokesperson for Westminster council said that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has not yet spoken formally to us about this request.
Their view is that taking a more strategic view of where investment is required by TfL and the Government in central London’s transport infrastructure, it is clear there are areas of much greater need within Westminster.
Due to accessibility concerns, TfL estimates that over 500,000 trips are not made to or from South Kensington station annually.
In addition to the District and Circle line stations at the surface level, it has promised to offer step-free access to the deep-level Piccadilly line.
What specific improvements will the $12 million funding bring to South Kensington Tube station?
As part of a larger renovation project worth more than £110 million, the £12 million provided by Kensington and Chelsea Council will support a number of particular upgrades at South Kensington Tube station.
Reopening a defunct platform in order to boost capacity and ease traffic on the Circle and District lines.
An accessible entry on historic Thurloe Street provides step-free access to the District and Circle lines, significantly enhancing accessibility for passengers with disabilities and mobility impairments.
A newly enlarged ticket booth and stairway to reduce crowding and enhance station passenger flow.
Platforms for the District and Circle lines are being rebuilt and enlarged to handle more passengers and enhance comfort. As part of the construction, 50 new residences and restaurant units were built, boosting the local economy.