Chris Best

Bakerloo Line Extension

Lewisham and beyond to Lower Sydenham

Welcome news for Sydenham residents is that Sadiq Khan has pledged to start work on three major rail schemes in the capital over the next 10 years as part of plans to unlock nearly 60,000 new homes.

Extensions to the Bakerloo Line, the Docklands Light Railway and the West London Orbital have all been included in the latest London Growth plan, published by the Mayor of London and London councils.

The 104-page document, which outlines a series of actions aiming to return the capital to the high growth rates of the 1990s and 2000s, also includes an ambition to “work towards” starting the long-delayed Crossrail 2 scheme from south to north London.

Transport for London has been proposing an extension of the Bakerloo line east from Elephant and Castle for more than a decade but mothballed the upgrade in 2022 due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. Sadiq has now said he is prioritising starting the project, which the report says will unlock 20,000 homes, within the next 10 years as part of a strategy to ease London’s housing shortage. Current plans for the line being drawn up by Aecom and WW&P would include four new stations at Burgess Park, Old Kent Road, New Cross Gate and Lewisham.

We will continue to press for the extension to Lower Sydenham as many homes could be build on Council owned land along Kangley Bridge Road.