Northern line extension to Battersea
The Northern line extension to Battersea is an extension of the London Underground from to Battersea in South West London, terminating at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station. The extension formed a continuation of the Northern line's branch and was built beginning in 2015; it opened in 2021.
Two new underground stations were built: Nine Elms and terminus Battersea Power Station. Both stations are in London fare zone 1. Provision was made for a future extension to Clapham Junction. Since the closure of the Battersea Power Station in the 1980s, multiple attempts were made to redevelop the area. In the mid 2000s, Irish property developers proposed extending the Northern line to serve the power station site, to improve connectivity and spur development. After the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of the Irish property bubble in the late 2000s, the Battersea Power Station site was bought by Malaysian investors, who subsequently contributed around £260m towards the construction of the Underground extension.
Construction took six years and cost £1.1billion and the extension opened on 20 September 2021. It was the first major extension of the Underground since the Jubilee Line Extension in 1999. It was funded by the private sector, including the developers of Battersea Power Station, with contributions from other developments across the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea area. The construction of the extension was supported by local councils, property developers and local residents. However, the subsequent development in the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas has been criticised for gentrification and low levels of affordable housing.
Background
Battersea Power Station
was a coal-fired power station on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea. Built in two stages as a single building in the 1930s and 1950s, the power station closed in 1983. It is a Grade II* listed building, owing to its size, Art Deco interior fittings and decor, and design by architect Giles Gilbert Scott.The first major proposal to develop the site in the mid 1980s was for an indoor theme park, by the owners of Alton Towers. The theme park proposal included the 'Battersea Bullet', a dedicated British Rail shuttle train from London Victoria station to the theme park. Owing to the early 1990s recession, the project was cancelled. There were various other proposals, including offices, a shopping centre and a new football stadium for Chelsea FC, as the site passed through several different owners. However, it remained undeveloped for over 30years. The building was added to the Heritage at Risk Register in 1991, and the World Monuments Fund watch list in 2004.
Northern line
Until 2015, the previous extension of the Northern line was into South London in 1926, as part of a route to Morden. In the 1980s, a southern extension of the Northern line to Peckham was proposed, as part of a review of potential extensions of Underground lines. The proposal was not implemented.Throughout the first decade of the 21st century, no plans were considered for extending the Northern line, as the Public Private Partnership to upgrade the Underground did not include provision for line extensions within the PPP contracts. Instead, the Northern line was to be upgraded with new signalling, and was proposed to be split into two separate lines by the mid 2020s, following the completion of expansion work at Camden Town tube station. Extensions of the Underground were being considered elsewhere in London, including a proposed extension of the Bakerloo line into south east London.
History
Planning and development
Mid 2000s
In 2006, Irish property developers Real Estates Opportunities and Treasury Holdings purchased the Battersea Power Station site from Hong Kong property developer Parkview International for £400million. In 2007, they abandoned the previously approved proposal for redeveloping the site, and appointed Rafael Viñoly to design a new masterplan for the site. Transport consultants assessed what improvements to public transport were required to allow the site to be viably developed. Replacing the previously proposed plan to upgrade Battersea Park station at a cost of £26million, a privately funded extension of the Northern line was proposed to serve the Battersea Power Station site.In June 2008, REO and Treasury Holdings announced their plans for the site. Their masterplan proposed refurbishing the power station to include office and retail space, 3,200 new homes and a biomass power station. They announced that they were in discussions with Transport for London regarding an extension of the Northern line to serve the site. The developer stated that Vauxhall is the closest Underground station to the site, and said that the station and the Victoria line were already at capacity.
In October 2008, the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom announced that the Embassy of the United States would move to a new site at Nine Elms, vacating its Mayfair location at Grosvenor Square. Plans for the embassy were approved in 2009, with infrastructure contributions towards an extension of the Northern line.
In 2009, as part of the development of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework by the Greater London Authority, TfL considered the transport options for different amounts of development in the area. Options assessed by TfL included upgrading nearby stations, extending London Underground lines to the site, as well as improving local bus routes. The report concluded that a high level of development in the area would require an extension of the Northern line to Battersea. In July 2009, TfL made clear that there was no funding available in its Business Plan for an extension, and that it would have to be privately funded.
Initial route consultation (2010)
In April 2010, London Mayor Boris Johnson published the Mayor's Transport Strategy, which outlined the Mayor's plans for public transport in the capital. This specifically supported a privately funded extension of the Northern line to Battersea, to assist with regeneration of the Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea areas.In May of that year, REO and Treasury Holdings launched a consultation into the extension of the Northern line to Battersea. As well as increasing the accessibility of their site, the developers noted that the extension would relieve Vauxhall station and serve redevelopment sites in the area including the new US Embassy and New Covent Garden Market.' The consultation noted construction could be completed by 2016. Four options were included in the consultation, all extensions of the Northern line from Kennington to Battersea.
- Option 1 – no intermediate stations, providing the fastest journey time to Battersea with the lowest cost. However, the route would not serve Nine Elms or other areas.
- Option 2 – Battersea and a station in south Nine Elms, south of the South West Main Line. This would serve major development sites and existing residential areas.
- Option 3 – Battersea and an interchange station at Vauxhall station. This would have the highest cost due to complex engineering. Despite the benefit of connecting to the Victoria line and National Rail services at Vauxhall station, it was thought that the route might "exacerbate crowding issues" on the Victoria line and at Vauxhall station.
- Option 4 – Battersea and a station in north Nine Elms, north of the South West Main Line. Although located close to Vauxhall station and the new US Embassy, the route would not serve existing residential areas.
Noting the difficult economic state of the UK due to the 2008 financial crisis, the GLA advised landowners, developers and local council leaders in November 2010 that the extension would be mostly privately funded via developers' contributions, costing the extension at £560million. Options for funding the extension included direct developer contributions, redirection of the Crossrail Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy in the local area to the project, and Tax increment financing.
Preferred route consultation (2011)
In May 2011, the preferred route of the extension was announced, using the previously proposed Option 2 via Nine Elms. The Nine Elms station was proposed to be located adjacent to Wandsworth Road and a Sainsbury's supermarket, south of the South West Main Line viaduct. The Battersea station was proposed to be located to the south of the Battersea Power Station development site, adjacent to Battersea Park Road.Following criticism during the consultation by local residents that route options were not considered, the consultation was extended until August 2011 so that the public could comment on the previously proposed route options. However, Option 2 remained the preferred option. Following feedback during consultation, the project would ensure that a future extension to Clapham Junction station could be built in the future. The consultation noted that the extension could open by 2017, pending potential delays.
In October 2011, a report commissioned by Wandsworth Borough Council showed that the proposed extension had a positive business case, with the potential of delivering up to £4.5billion in tax receipts across the area. In November 2011, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the UK Government would financially support the extension of the Northern line to Battersea, with the potential creation of an Enterprise Zone in the surrounding area.
Power Station developer into administration (2011)
In December 2011, Treasury Holdings went into administration, after failing to repay debts of £340million to Lloyds Banking Group and Ireland's National Asset Management Agency.' Due to the 2008 financial crisis and the collapse of the Irish property bubble, REO and Treasury Holdings had not been able to find an investor to allow them to proceed with the development. REO had been criticised by investors and potential partners for their high levels of debt, as well as their "overly litigious" approach to business.' For the first time in its history, the power station site was put up for sale on the open market. As part of the sale, the £200million contribution to the Northern line extension remained, as well as the approved planning permission. Despite the sale of the site, Mayor Boris Johnson requested that the planning and development of the extension continue, with responsibility of the project passing to TfL.In March 2012, the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework was published by the GLA, proposing 16,000 new homes, of commercial space and 27,000 new jobs across the area, as well as outlining the infrastructure requirements required to support this level of growth.