Wandsworth councillors have urged their counterparts in Lambeth to seek more money for transport improvements from London & Regional for its 42-storey tower development on the Bondway site in Vauxhall.
Lambeth’s planning committee is due to consider an application by London & Regional for a scheme next to Vauxhall station. It would provide 376 flats and around 60,000 sq ft of shops, restaurants and offices.
Following consultation with the Mayor the applicant is expected to contribute £790,000 for the transport interchange and £488,000 for Crossrail.
Wandsworth’s planning chairman Leslie McDonnell said the money was not enough given the pressure the scheme would place on the local transport network:
“This is a key site in the Nine Elms Opportunity Area. Wandsworth is working with Lambeth and the Mayor to attract substantial investment to this part of south London.
“It needs more than extra facilities at Vauxhall station. The whole transport infrastructure in this area needs to be looked at including the potential for contributions to a Northern Line extension.
“It’s also hard to see why a development at Vauxhall should contribute towards Crossrail costs when the regeneration of Nine Elms is so dependent on investment in new transport capacity in the area.”
Wandsworth’s planning applications committee said that if Lambeth was contemplating approving the overall scheme they should seek a much bigger sum from the developer which could be spent exclusively on transport improvements throughout the wider Nine Elms area.
Councillors also said that any scheme should safeguard important views of the borough including Battersea Power Station.
