Imperial Wharf railway station

Infobox London station
name = Imperial Wharf


manager = London Overground
zone = 2
locale = Sands End
borough = Hammersmith and Fulham
years= 2010
events=Due to open
platforms=2
railexits0405=
railcode=?

Imperial Wharf is an under-constructioncite web|url=http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News_and_Media/Press_office/Press_releases/102550_Imperial_Wharf_station_work_begins.asp|title=Imperial Wharf Station Work Begins|date=2008-07-29|publisher=London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham|accessdate=2008-07-30] railway station on the border of Chelsea and Fulham in west London on the West London Line. The station will be between West Brompton and Clapham Junction stations and services will be provided by London Overground.

The station will be in Sands End where the line crosses Townmead Road. It takes its name from the adjacent redevelopment of a brown field, former industrial site, which has been developed into a luxury 1600 apartment river-side complex by property developers St George over the last 5 years. The Imperial Wharf development is continuing to grow and as it did, the case for the Imperial Wharf Overground station grows.

Background

In 2005, the estimated cost was £3 million, of which £1.7 million has already been provided by St. George [ [http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning_decisions/strategic_dev/2005/jun2205/imperial_wharf_blocks_c&h_report.pdf Imperial Wharf planning report] , paragraph 35] , the developer of the Imperial Wharf site, leaving a funding shortfall of £1.3 million. [ [http://www.westlondonlinegroup.org.uk/latest_news.htm Westlondonlinegroup.org.uk - funding shortfall, 13 April 2005] ] The remaining sum will only be paid by the house-builder Circadian if an 800-apartment project gets the go-ahead following the recent Public InquiryFact|date=March 2007.

In October 2007, Hammersmith and Fulham Council announced they had extracted another £1.2 million from St George, roughly enough to complete the project. However, they did not confirm whether this meant that the station is going to be built. There have been calls for over 15 years, by residents for a station to be opened at the site called Imperial Wharf, and to be funded by Transport for London and the local council.

The Imperial Wharf Overground Station appears on some maps of the rail network and on the latest Geographer's A-Z maps. However, the Transport for London maps issued in November 2007 to mark the inclusion of the 'London Overground' in their network did not include any mention of the station.

Current status

The station secured full funding on 28 April 2008 [cite press release
publisher=24dash.com
date=2008-04-21
url=http://www.24dash.com/news/Local_Government/2008-04-21-Hammersmith-and-Fulham-to-give-green-light-to-new-Imperial-Wharf-railway-station
title=Hammersmith & Fulham to give green light to new Imperial Wharf railway station
accessdate=2008-04-23 ] [cite news|url=http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News_and_Media/Press_office/Press_releases/96590_Imperial_Wharf_station_saved.asp|title=Imperial Wharf station saved |date=2008-04-21|publisher=London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham|accessdate=2008-06-08] and will open in 2010. On 30 June a sign was erected at the site of the new station advertising that the new Imperial Wharf station will be "Opening soon". In the week commencing 7 July 2008, new hoardings were erected around the Imperial Wharf station site, these showed updated designs for the station and further it has been reported that work has started in the form of vegetation clearance of the land and sidings where the new station will be built and earth works have also been undertaken in preparation for the building to start. Construction was confirmed as being underway on 29 July 2008. The building works are now well underway and can be seen from both the Imperial Wharf approach and from Chelsea Harbour.

The new station will be an important addition to Sands End area of Fulham, which is currently being heavily invested in, by both private and public organisations. This investment includes not only their new station which will link the Sands End area to Clapham Junction Station in the south of London and northwards towards Euston Station, further a new residential development called "The Galleries" has been started on recently cleared land next to the Laura Ashley offices, between Bagleys Lane and Elbe Street.

There are also plans by another developer to re-develop the Lots Road Power Station, into 395 residential units. The Lots Road Power Station, close to the Thames, is a large disused power-station building, which was designed in 1902 and completed in 1905. The coal fired power station was used until 2003, to provide power for the London Underground. The developers hope to complete the building by 2013. These developments and the planned expansion of Imperial Wharf development, by St George, will mean that the new Imperial Wharf Overground station has been highly anticipated and in high demand by the growing population in the Sands End part of Fulham and should encourage yet further growth and development of the area.

References

External links

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* [http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/Directory/News_and_Media/Press_office/Press_releases/102550_Imperial_Wharf_station_work_begins.asp Imperial Wharf station work begins.]

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