Building around stations

Featured in the Future Transport London Newsletter January 2026

In mid November City AM reported Housing Secretary Steve Reed as suggesting that housing developments around railway stations would be ‘permitted development’, ie not requiring planning permission.

Mayor Sadiq Khan opposed building on the green belt in his first two election manifestos but more recently has changed his view.  There is some misconception of the green belt.  It is not all green pastures.  It was designed to limit London’s sprawl before it reached Brighton, and includes brownfield sites ripe for development.  The term grey belt was initially aimed at these sites but seems to have, well, sprawled.

Significantly large communities need public transport.  This has been recognized with the DLR extension to Thamesmead finally getting government support.  Building around railway stations therefore has a great deal of merit.

However, it does depend on the railway having the capacity to meet the increased demand.  The platforms and the passages leading to them have to be adequate, and the trains have to have the capacity to meet the demand without choking destinations further up the line.  Getting these details right is an essential part of the planning process.

In the case of a recently proposed development at Woolwich, TfL seems content that the developer should fund a cycleway and bus improvements through a section 106 agreement.  Rail campaigners believe a second point of access/egress would be needed as well.  Footfall at Woolwich is already as great as that at Canary Wharf, which has two exits.  Having two entrances, particular with long trains like those of the Elizabeth line, is a cost effective way of providing in effect two stations for the price of one.  It is why the central section of the Elizabeth line is so successful. 

Similar opportunities were missed when the Victoria line was built, resulting in an imbalance between passengers at the southern end of trains; and in the Arsenal development, where safety could have been enhanced at Drayton Park and the station kept open on match days.

Andrew Bosi