Bally Studios recently celebrated 7 years of trading in Tottenham Hale, and, as co
founder, I have been based in the area for over 8 years. In 2003, I
was living in Highbury and Islington, a few mins walk away from the
tube station. At the time, my partner and I were paying £798 a
month for a one bedroom flat. The bedroom, a single, could barely
accommodate a double bed. You had to climb over the bed to get to the
wardrobe. There was no kitchen, just a small kitchenette in the
corner of the sitting room. We lived on a busy main A-road, where
lorries would pass constantly, and had a small, unofficial ledge for
outside space. The rent was cheaper than most flats, as we were
years into a tenancy. At the time, we were working as club
promoters, so we would spend the whole week working from home,
preparing for 2 weekly club nights, on Friday and Saturday night.
Despite having some of the best bars in London on our doorstep, a
limited budget meant we didn't have the disposable income to frequent
them. With heavy heart, and craving more space., we decided to
relocate, and look further afield.
At
the first 3 estate agents we went to see, when we said our priority
was “as much square footage for the money as possible”, all 3 of
them focused in on Tottenham. Despite having lived in Highbury and
Islington for years, we had never even ventured over to Tottenham,
less so considered living there. One of the first properties we saw
was a 1,050 sq foot 2 bedroom, Victorian property. Front and back
garden, right near local bus routes, high ceilings, and, best of all, it was
£758 a month, compared to the £798 a month we were paying for a
place less than 1/3 of the size, which had no outside space. The
property had just been renovated, and was situated in a quiet area,
and we jumped at the opportunity to secure the property.
Our
new home was based in Foyle Rd, a few mins walk away from
Northumberland Park Train Station. Over the next few years of living
in this area, it became obvious that many other people living in the
area has similar reasons for being based there as we had. Young
families, priced out of surrounding areas, relocated for the extra
space that their budget could accommodate in Tottenham. Parking
spaces were plentiful , a refreshing change. Tottenham marshes was
based on our doorstep, and we grew so attached to the area, that when
it came time to start a business for ourselves, we didn't hesitate to
choose Tottenham as its location.
So
when we saw a recent Twitter post by Bruce Castle News, highlighting
a question that Joanne McCartney had put to London Mayor Boris
Johnson about looking into the possiblity that he “ask TfL to
conduct a feasibility study to for extending the Victoria Line to
Northumberland Park” it was a subject that both appealed to our
emotions, as well as one that, we felt, made sense, economically.
All
tube trains currently go to Northumberland Park anyway, as this is
where they are cleaned. There is a train-wash, like a car wash for
tube trains, that can be clearly seen by people driving along
Watermead Way. The tracks are already laid, but at present there is
no platform and station facilities. Joanne McCartney shared the
same hopes as many local residents, that Northumberland Park Train
Station could be transformed into a tube station. Within minutes of
us echoing her sentiments, Justin Hinchcliffe of @TottenhamTories
chirped in, that it had been “first proposed by us on 2001”. A
quick internet search shows that local Labour MP, David Lammy felt
that "the important thing is to deliver an extension on the
Victoria Line sometime soon - people desperately need it in what is a
deprived part of London."
So
both the Tories and the Labour party, at a local level, seem to be in
favour of it. Justin Hinchcliffe of @TottenhamTories tweeted
“we should make a united, cross-party push for
it”, a sentiment we agreed with. Ken
Livingstone, in 2003, was vocal for his support too, and Boris
Johnson has backed a regeneration plan that promises ‘up to 10,000
new high quality homes and over 5,000 new jobs’ for Tottenham by
2025, as well as publicly backing Tottenham Hotspurs plans to build a
new 56,000 all seater stadium next to their current stadium.
We've
spoken to many people in the area that are equally vocal with their
support. We, personally, feel that the plan for a Northumberland
Park tube station would be of great benefit to the community.
Support seems be be forthcoming from all areas for the plan., both
socially and politically. But as of yet, the official line from TFL
is “London Underground has already evaluated the business case to
extend the Victoria line to Northumberland Park. The outcome
(weighing up the benefits, demand and costs) indicated that the
investment would not represent value for money and could not be
justified when compared alongside other projects which would deliver
greater benefits to London”.
At
present, Northumberland Park station is a train station, National
Rail, on the Stansted Express route. Despite it only having 1 or 2
trains per hour, depending on the time of day, passenger numbers have
grown from 73,310 in 2004–05, to 125,000 in 2006/07, to 162,000 in
2008/2009, and, in 2009/2010, the last year we have figures for,
176,000 used the station, an all-time high. Popularity of the
station has grown 150% in just 6 years, despite there being no
significant change in the service. That's not to say it is 150% of
what it was, it has GROWN that amount. It is 250% what it was. So
that seems to contradict the official line that development “could
not be justified”.
Northuberland
Park is also a 5 mins stroll away from Tottenham Hotspurs Football
ground, much nearer than the current 20 minute walk that it is from
Seven Sisters station. Tottenham Hotspurs are planning on opening a
new 56,00 stadium in less than 2 years. Each year, on average,
there are 26 home games. (19 in the league, on average 7 in the
Europa League, League Cup, FA Cup, depending of their performance in
these competitions and if they are drawn at home or not. Catch
them on a good year, and you'll see up to 32 games) Using Arsenal
FC’s transport statistics (which I think is fair, considering the 2
teams are based only 1 stop apart at present, from Finsbury Park to
Seven Sisters), “70% of football fans reply on other transportation
means, other than private cars”. So that is up to 39,000 fans who
could use the train station every game. We're business owners, so
we are routinely cautious when it comes to projecting numbers, so
lets say that there are only 25,000 people who would use public
transport instead (which would represent only 45% of fans, as
opposed to 70%), that would still equate to 650,000 fans per year who
could potentially use the station from Tottenham games alone.
Add
to that the 176,000 that were already using it, as a train station
that has an hourly/half hourly service, and you already have 800,000
annual passengers. South Kenton only has 960,000 annual passengers.
North Ealing 940,000, Grange Hill, Chigwell, Chesham and Theydon Bois
have between 460,000 and 740,000 a year. So even discounting the
fact that many people don't currently use it now because of the
irregular service, and discounting the fact that usage for the
station has been growing dramatically as it is, you still have a
number nearing a million. Surely that is demand enough?
In
fact, there are already massive amounts of work in place to
regenerate the Tottenham Hale gyratory. Tfl themselves have said,
“The current one-way system has high volumes of traffic.”
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/13315.aspx
But currently, the only way that fans can get from the Tottenham
ground to the tube station, and that local residents of
Northumberland park can get to the tube also, is by putting this
current system under even more pressure. You only have to spend a
few days getting off of the tube at Seven Sisters and see the amount
of people using the 341 and 476 bus routes, which take you to
Northumberland Park, to see how many people need to travel to the
area that already use the tube. More transport options, and a new
tube station, would mean less buses on the road.
This
is not even taking into account that the tracks are already in
place!! The trains are already going there every day as it is.
All you would need is a platform or two,and a station concourse. No
tunnels, no tracks need to be laid. Of course, work would need to be
done to re-route certain parts of the tracks, but compared to other
more flagship projects that have recently taken place, such as the
east London line, Crossrail and the Jubillee Line extension, the work
would be nominal.
If
budget is a concern, then there is the option to run it as a shuttle
service from Seven Sisters, in the same way that the Northern Line,
Mill Hill East branch is currently run. Tube passengers could
interchange at Seven Sisters, from the platform, that currently
serves Walthamstow Central, and change to the “Nothumberland Park
Platform”, which is based approximately 100 feet away, on the same
level. The same train could just keep going back and forth along
the same line, and even taking into account the driver walking from
one of of the train to the other when changing direction, it could
still be more than possible to run a “4 train an hour service” in
Non-peak times, and a direct service in peak times.
There
is already increasing demand at Tottenham hale tube station, and it
was named in a recent report into train/tube stations that are most
susceptible to reaching capacity soon.
(http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jul/05/london-rushhour-train-crowding-worst-20-years)
Many people currently use the station as an interchange between the
Victoria line and Stansted Express. Northumberland Park is already
on the Stansted Express. Open it as a tube station, and you have
another interchange that can be used by some of the 4 million annual
commuters who use the National Rail/Stansted Express station at Tottenham Hale.
Assuming that 2 million passengers are using Tottenham Hale in each
direction, (half go one way, half go the other way) if 5% of the passengers who interchange at Tottenham Hale
station for northbound travel were to change at Northumberland Park
instead, that's another 100,000 passengers a year who could benefit
directly from a Northumberland Park tube station. Even if it was only
used at peak hours, it would take the burden off of Tottenham Hale
alone, and would be preferable for many people as it would be a step
free interchange, with the tube and train station at Northumberland
park being at the same level. By providing secure cycle parking
facilities, people from areas not served by the tube could be within
cycling distance of it.
TFL
assessment of the viability of the station is also missing a very
obvious point. That the main reason there is no demand at present
is because there is no tube station there! Therefore, there is less
of culture of local residents using the tube. Before the o2 arena
was built in North Grenwich, there was not much of a demand for
concerts there, only because there was no venue! By building the
infrastructure, the supply will create a demand for the product., as
“Say's law” dictates, which was advocated by Economist John
Maynard Keynes amongst others. And this is only counting people
who would directly use the station for the local area and as a train
interchange, and not counting the possibility of it being used as a
bus interchange for surrounding areas. Within a couple of miles of
the prospective site are areas that are currently not served by the
Tube, such as Chingford, Edmonton, Enfield, Ponders End, Brimsdown
and many others. It could be utilised as a vital interconnection
between bus routes and tube stations, in the same way that Edgware,
Stanmore and Walthamstow stations currently are.
The
arguments for Northumberland park Tube station are strong. Even from
a safety point of view, currently the whole of the Victoria line is
underground, with it being the only tube line that has no open air
sections. Heaven forbid, if there was an incidents even approaching
the magnitude of the 7/7 attacks, it would act as a vital way for
emergency services to access the Victoria Line, or for people to be
evacuated quickly from. Property within the area
is much cheaper, and there is also sufficient land in the area, in
the form of industrial estates that have been for sale, and unsold,
for years, that could be used for new housing, and a tube station
would provide a transport hub for any such developments. TFL and
the Mayor of London are vocally backing the Nine Elm development,
which is being proposed in the same way, in that a new area of london
could be created by a new tube station. Northumberland park could
have a similar effect, at a fraction of the cost.
Even
if it is just run as a shuttle service during off peak hours, to save
money, and run as a direct service into central London or the peak
hours of 7:30am – 9:30am and 4:30pm – 6:30pm, we hope that the
scheme is given the opportunity it deserves. As a direct result of
moving into the area, we founded a local business, which has resulted
in 5 residents of Tottenham being employed. A small effect? Maybe.
But imagine that multiplied by many more times. Better transport
links would mean more people moving into the area, and the knock on
effect can only be positive for local business’s. It could mean
better bus and train interconnections, and an area of London
synonymous with poverty can be given hope. It would also give the
message that the government feels that Tottenham is an area worthy of
investment. How do the government think that people feel when they
hear Tfl say the area is not worthy of investment and that “other projects
(would) would deliver greater benefits to London”. If the London
Riots of last year showed us anything, it is that we should not be
concentrating our efforts on the areas of London that would solely
generate more income, rather that we should be investing in areas
such as this. MP's are in cross party support. Residents would
benefit, as would local business’s would.
On
7th August, 2011, The UK was shocked by the riots in
Tottenham, and the image of Allied carpets, burning well into the
night, was a catalyst that created more rioting over the next week.
I remember watching it myself. I had, a couple of months earlier,
moved onto the property ladder, and I was having a house party that
night to celebrate purchasing my first home. Party guests who
understood my affiliation with Tottenham brought the matter to my
attention, and about 20-30 of us, with glasses of wine and beer in
hand, watched the footage of the riots on TV, with great sadness,
until about 3am. When everyone had left, I stayed up until 8am
watching the footage. I went into work the next day, at 11am,
witnessing, first hand, the widespread looting that was happening
the next morning at the Tottenham Hale retail park. The image of
Allied carpets ablaze, that night, was the enduring image, for me, of
the London riots. When we were soundproofing the studios on it's
first day, in 2005, I bought a job lot of carpet that was frayed at
the edges, for 50% off, from that very store. It as symbolic for me,
that on the night I was celebrating stepping onto the property
ladder, the very building that put me on the way, was burning to the
ground.
The
empty shell of this building lies 850 yards from Northumberland Park Train
station. What a fine legacy it would be if Northumberland park were
to have it's own Tube station. How are people meant to feel proud
about their own community when transport for London openly state that
it is not worthy of investment, while other, more financially
affluent areas, are given mass funding? The government is not meant
to be investing in areas that are already financially strong money.
That is what the private sector is for. By investing now, it will
help to revitalize an area, and hopefully prevent some of the scenes
we saw last year. This area helped me to create financial stability
for myself. I am sure it can do the same for others.
We
sincerely hope that TFL reconsider their stance, and we hope that the
mayor for London, and the Government, both at a local and national
level, put their support behind this worthy scheme. It has our full
support.
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