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Local Labour councillors in Rye Lane have launched a campaign calling for the government to fund the full upgrade of Peckham Rye Station to make it safe and accessible.
This summer, the Government paused funding to redevelop the station which would have eased overcrowding and installed lift access to all platforms.
The news comes as Southwark Labour Leader, Cllr Sarah King, wrote to Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander asking for a rethink of current plans to pause the upgrade.
Peckham Rye Station is the biggest interchange in the country without accessible access, with some 6 million passengers using the station in 2024.
Labour’s plans to upgrade the wider station square on Rye Lane moved forward this summer, with the demolition of vacant buildings on the new forecourt set to begin. The £27 million upgrade will see the station front revealed and brand new public space opened on Rye Lane. These plans were designed to coincide with the upgrade of the station itself.
The station upgrade would not only provide accessible access to platforms at the station but increase safe capacity and unlock economic growth, with the station’s regeneration aiding local housing delivery and renewal of the high street.
Proposals to transform the station are shovel ready, as Network Rail has already secured planning permission. The local Labour Council has already committed £1 million for the upgrade and is liaising with Network Rail over immediate health and safety works that are needed.
Rye Lane’s Labour councillors are now calling on the Government to reconsider and deliver this vital investment in capacity and accessibility, that will provide massive benefits to Peckham town centre, the whole of Southwark and wider south east London.
Announcing the petition, Cllr Esmé Dobson, local Labour councillor for Rye Lane, said:
“We are always looking to improve our local area with our communities, and the upgrade of Peckham Rye Station is essential for residents across Peckham and beyond. The current station is a real barrier to residents with disabilities, parents with buggies, older people and shoppers.
“As a Labour council we have already put our money where our mouth is, granting planning permission for the upgrade and committing £1 million to start the works. It was extremely disappointing to see funding from the government paused in the spending review.
“We are launching our petition with our residents to make sure local voices are heard, and to encourage the government to deliver this vital upgrade to our local station.”
