MICA on 'Back the Bakerloo'
MICA architects will be joining our March forum to discuss the value of extending the capital's underground tube lines.
The practice has carried out strategic studies around the extension to the Bakerloo Line and now the Mayor of London, TfL and Southwark Council have launched a campaign, 'Back the Bakerloo' explaining the plans to build new stations and rail line from Elephant and Castle through to Lewisham.
Construction could start in 2023 and cost £3.1 billion, with three new stations built in Old Kent Road, named Bricklayers Arms, Burgess Park and Asylum, with a second phase going further afield reaching Ladywell, Sydenham, Catford and Hayes in Bromley.
Input from the local community Councillor Johnson Situ from Lambeth says is crucial 'in getting the plans right...more than 6,000 residents have already responded and their views considered'.
The regeneration is aiming at providing new homes and creating a sense of pride of place for those that live there. Over the next three to four years, growth is expected and this extension enables London to deliver its housing target. Creative businesses are likely to locate themselves around these developments and some interest has already been shown in this area with artists attracted to setting up their studios.
The strongest selling point of the development is the regeneration of the historic Old Kent Road. Georgian and Victorian buildings have survived the second world war bombings and these rub shoulders with some 1960's high rises and while there are a string of shops, there has never been a designated town centre. Now the aim is to create a definitive place in its own right.
Southwark Council speaks of the extension as 'a game changer' for the area and investment will extend to schools, leisure facilities, parks, walking and cycling connections, a health hub and new cultural offers, as well as higher and further education provision.