Transport for London (TfL) has been told by the Mayor of London to identify a new location for the Victoria Coach Station when the building lease expires and Crossrail 2 begins work. We understand that the only location TfL is considering is a strip of land along the railway tracks by Royal Oak, where TfL propose to build a coach station and then luxury tower blocks above , polluting our neighbourhood and blighting our landscape.
Councillors Richard Elcho and Emily Payne call on local people to stand against this threat to our area:
- In 2014 over 14 million passengers travelled through Victoria Coach Station. Royal Oak and Bayswater do not have the necessary infrastructure to cope with this extra number of people.TfL is proposing to overload the existing transport infrastructure rather than funding the necessary onward travel in a more suitable location. Our Underground, buses and roads will not be able to cope with the proposed number of daily visitors
- Royal Oak is a residential area and a Coach Station would irredeemably damage the local environment. We pride ourselves on our diverse community, our long standing, multi-generation families, our high streets and our primary schools. Re-locating London’s Coach Station will irreparably impact the nature of Bayswater as well as threaten our high streets
- Coach Stations are sadly accompanied by anti-social behaviour issues, our police are already stretched, and our community will suffer the negative impact from this development
- Marylebone Road, leading to the A40, is the most polluted road in London adding a coach station would exacerbate the problem of air pollution. We are already located between the A40 and the Bayswater Road, this will suffocate our green streets, affecting our young families and our schools
- We do not believe the site is suitable in size, access roads or location, a coach station should be located outside of central London
- We understand that there has been little enthusiasm from developers for the residential tower blocks due to questions about viability. We do not need an empty luxury tower block. These proposed tower blocks may well breach Westminster City Council’s City Plan, created to protect and preserve our neighbourhoods
Update
The campaign against Royal Oak coach station continues at full pace. Transport for London (TfL) is making their decision on whether to relocate 2/3 of Victoria Coach Station to Royal Oak by the Spring. Having met with TfL, we believe this is a very real threat. The site meets their criteria of already owning the land, the size of the land and the proximity to Paddington, the Elizabeth line and other transport links. TfL’s options include a shopping centre and a luxury tower of residential accommodation and offices. TfL said “there isn’t really anything like the Royal Oak site in West London” when it comes to the choice of locations. We have a month to fight this.
We are against this because it will irreparably damage the local area. 14 million people a year currently use Victoria Coach Station and our streets are not equipped to deal with that influx of footfall. Our roads will become congested with redirected coaches, pick up and drop off vehicles, taxis, delivery and service vehicles. The local air and noise pollution will sky rocket, harming everyone who lives in the local area and our close concentration of schools and nurseries. The plans may involve losing direct access to the A40 and re-routing traffic through the surrounding areas. Major travel hubs are accompanied by anti-social behaviour. None of this is suitable to a quiet, residential area, popular with families. London should copy Paris and locate our International Coach station outside central London. If you would like some more information about the plans or want to get involved in our campaign click here.
The strength of our opposition is in the public outcry. We intend to maintain regular press coverage of this issue and will present our petition to TfL on Thursday 14th March. We have over 4,000 signatures so far but we want more. Please sign below if you have not already done so!
This campaign has now closed.