Woolwich’s Elizabeth Line station was not designed to have a second entrance, the developers behind plans for new tower blocks over the eastern end of the platforms have said, confirming that they do not plan to build one.
But Greenwich Council has said it would like to see a new way in and out of the station built if possible.
Berkeley Homes and Transport for London were given permission for towers of up to 26 storeys, with 525 homes, on top of the eastern end of the station three years ago. TfL was given permission for blocks of up to 25 storeys back in 2015.
Now the two organisations are about to submit a new application for the development, increasing the heights of the buildings and including 50 more homes. Two of the four blocks would be 26 storeys high, rather than just one, while extra storeys would be added to other buildings. They say this is in response to changes in building regulations and to make the site deliverable.
But neither the current nor proposed schemes include a second entrance for the station, even though it has suffered from overcrowding problems since it opened three years ago. In January last year a queuing system was put in place to try to manage crowds leaving trains.
An estimated 13.2 million journeys started and finished at Woolwich station in the year to March 2024 – more than six times the numbers using its older neighbour, Woolwich Arsenal.
Yet all those passengers will have to continue squeezing out through the single exit in the Royal Arsenal estate, with the developers confirming that there are no plans for a second exit.
The station was nearly not built, with neither the Westminster government nor City Hall believing that it would offer value for money. In the end, Greenwich Council and Berkeley Homes had to rescue the scheme, with Greenwich finally paying its £15 million share of the bill last year.
That reluctance by Westminster and City Hall has proved costly for many passengers, because the very basic station built at Woolwich was not built with provision for a second exit at the eastern end. Only an emergency exit was built, and that will emerge in the new development.
Despite the obvious inconvenience to passengers, particularly those who would live in the new development and others closer to the Plumstead end of the station, the lack of a second entrance was not brought up by Greenwich Council’s planning board when the current scheme was approved.
As well as Armourer’s Court, nearly 300 new homes are being built close by at the London South East Colleges site, while Berkeley itself is finishing the first of 1,750 homes at Lombard Square, by Plumstead bus garage.
A spokesperson for the project told The Greenwich Wire: “We can confirm the proposal does not include the provision of an additional eastern entrance to the Elizabeth Line station. Woolwich station is a TfL owned and operated asset and TfL have confirmed the station box has not been designed to accommodate a second entrance, and there are currently no plans for this to be provided.”
TfL itself did not respond to requests for comment.
A Greenwich Council spokesperson said it was unable to comment on planning applications before a formal decision, but said: “However, if TfL decided to build another entrance to the Elizabeth line station at Woolwich, we would support this. As part of our regeneration ambitions and commitment to creating vibrant places, we want to make it as easy as possible to travel around our borough using public transport, and new developments should benefit the new and existing communities that they serve.”
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
You must be logged in to post a comment.