Why No Crossrail in Chelsea
A STATION IN CHELSEA WILL CREATE JUST ANOTHER CLONED HIGH STREET AND A DISRUPTIVE NIGHTTIME ECONOMY.
Crossrail 1 stations also have retail, office development and restaurants. Such a station would seriously damage the streetscape of Chelsea, ruining the unique charm of the Kings Road and its independent businesses, creating yet another cloned High Street and a disruptive night time economy. The main beneficiaries of the station will be property developers.
A STATION IN CHELSEA WILL COST £1.2 BILLION.
The entire Crossrail 2 project is estimated to cost £27 billion. Cancelling plans for Crossrail in Chelsea would save £1 billion to 1.2 billion. The station will cost £840m. Neither TfL nor RBKC have a cost benefit analysis to justify spending the money.
THE STATION IN CHELSEA IS THE ONLY STATION WHICH DOES NOT INTERCHANGE WITH OTHER LINES. THERE IS NO TRANSPORT CASE FOR THE STATION.
Crossrail2 trains are 250 metres long and are able to carry 1500 passengers. There will be 48 trains an hour passing through Chelsea. A station in Chelsea could cause the inundation of the Kings Road, destroying the current shopping experience. RBKC state its main benefit will be more shopping.
A STATION IN CHELSEA WILL HIT BUSINESSES HARD.
A station on the King’s Road in Chelsea will result in higher rents and 50% higher business rates upon completion. Businesses will also see reduced takings during eight years of construction, with road closures forcing shoppers elsewhere.
A STATION ON SYDNEY STREET WILL THREATEN THE FUTURE OF THE BROMPTON HOSPITAL.
The site safeguarded for the station includes land owned by the Royal Brompton Hospital and its associated charity. This land is considered vital for the planned modernisation of this renowned Heart and Lung hospital. The hospital has opposed TFL’s plans. The Marsden hospital (a renowned cancer hospital) also opposes the plans for a Crossrail station.
A ROUTE THROUGH CHELSEA WILL PUT 240 LISTED BUILDINGS AT RISK.
Boring the twin tunnels 16 metres below buildings will risk damage to many buildings, as has happened with Crossrail 1. Deep excavation for the station will also cause settlement damage. Chelsea has 240 listed buildings that will be put at risk by the construction. 34 of these are on the Kings Road itself.
CHELSEA ALREADY HAS EXCELLENT PUBLIC TRANSPORT LINKS.
Chelsea is well served by Sloane Square and South Kensington underground stations and the Kings Road itself by five bus routes. Chelsea does not need a third, much bigger, station. The District/Circle Line upgrade will increase capacity by 30 – 40% – undermines any case for a station.
CONSTRUCTION OF CROSSRAIL IN CHELSEA WILL CAUSE ENORMOUS DISRUPTION.
Station construction would take eight years during which the Kings Road may be closed , causing enormous traffic congestion on Chelsea Embankment, Fulham Road, the roads between and further north.
MYTH BUSTING
Crossrail is not like the London Underground. It is a high-speed, mass-transit railway. 600 insurance claims remain outstanding for property damage caused by Crossrail 1. We do not want this in Chelsea.
The Chelsea Crossrail station will not be like Sloane Square. Crossrail in Chelsea will cost £1 billion – a substantial amount of which will be raised by retail development. Here is an artist’s impression of the Bond Street station.
Dovehouse Green is located within the safeguarded area for the new King’s Road station. Co-Founder of the Royal Academy, Giovanni Cipriani, is among those buried here. Parts of the land could be built on if Crossrail in Chelsea goes ahead.
800 local people attended our public meeting in June 2015. Since then, more than 4000 have signed our petition. Crossrail 2 is not needed and not wanted in Chelsea.
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