Railtrack is in discussions with Elliott Bernerd over incorporating a redeveloped Waterloo station into the cultural quarter on the South Bank of the Thames.
Bernerd, chairman of the South Bank Board as well as quoted property company Chelsfield, is thought to be working on ways to link the renaissance of the South Bank with Railtrack’s redevelopment of Waterloo station.
A senior Railtrack source said: “Elliott has made overtures about integrating our potential redevelopment with his plans for the South Bank Centre.”
A redevelopment on this scale would entail the co-operation of several landowners including Shell and P&O – both of which own considerable holdings on neighbouring sites.
The London borough of Lambeth is also known to favour formal links between developers, while the landowners have already held a number of seminars. At one workshop it was even suggested that Railtrack close Charing Cross to put an end to trains splitting the South Bank in two. Giant travellators would instead transport commuters over the Thames into Charing Cross.
One source labelled the suggestion as “pie in the sky” but insisted any redevelopment of Waterloo would have a massive commercial element to justify the enormous cost of rafting over the railway tracks.
EGi News 03/09/99
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