Over £80million of Government cash has been awarded today for transport improvements around Canada Water and Surrey Quays.
The Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) bid was submitted to the Government in December last year, to support up to an additional 14,000 homes by 2031.
Among the changes expected from the successful £80.8million bid include a second entrance at Surrey Quays station, a new station at Surrey Canal Road, between Queens Road Peckham and Surrey Quays, and “additional facilities” at Canada Water bus station.
The additional facilities are expected to include a new route to serve the serve the 3,500 home Convoys Wharf mixed-use development in nearby Deptford.
Part of the bid money is also expected to go towards increasing the frequency of trains on the Overground East London Line to twenty an hour.
The funding is given to projects which deliver infrastructure improvements for the supply of new homes, in “areas of greatest housing demand.”
Among the expected improvements are a second station entrance at Surrey Quays
Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP, Neil Coyle, told the News: “We have needed investment in transport infrastructure for some time in Rotherhithe. Tubes and buses have been stretched and people have been concerned about new house building without this vital funding.
“I’m glad to have played my role in ensuring crucial new resources help build capacity at Canada Water and Surrey Quays and mean we will also get more genuinely affordable homes locally.
“This is good news for SE16, Southwark and London.”
“These enhancements will support the major developments proposed at Canada Water, New Bermondsey and Convoys Wharf, delivering mixed-use development that supports key Mayoral objectives,” a Transport for London spokesman has previously told the News.
Other successful Housing Infrastructure Fund announced today include projects in Essex, Enfield and Herfordshire. £600million has been pledged for the five projects in total.
“I want to see more homes built in the places people want to live, so more people realise the dream of homeownership,” said Chancellor Sajid Javid.
“But we need the roads, rail links, and schools to support the families living in those homes, which is why I set up a fund to put in place the infrastructure to unlock new homes in these areas.”
Concerns have previously been raised about overcrowded public transport in the SE16 area.
London Assembly Member, Florence Eshalomi, spoke of her constituents’ concern at Canada Water station overcrowding, which serves both the Jubilee Line and Overground in May.
In response, Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Canada Water can get very busy, but staff are trained to carefully manage passenger flows at the station to ensure a safe travel environment and minimum inconvenience for customers.”
Separately, a Google Maps analysis of ‘crowdedness’ reports from its users in June revealed the station to be among London’s most congested.
Notes to editors
Full article via Southwark News