Subscribe to updates
You'll receive weekly summaries about Lewisham Council every week.
If you have any requests or comments please let us know at community@opencouncil.network. We can also provide custom updates on particular topics across councils.
Public Transport Liaison Forum - Wednesday, 16th April, 2025 7.00 pm
April 16, 2025 View on council websiteSummary
The Public Transport Liaison Forum was scheduled to meet on Wednesday 16 April 2025. On the agenda was a review of the minutes from the previous meeting, declarations of interest from the councillors, and a discussion of questions and responses related to transport issues in Lewisham.
Transport Questions and Responses
The bulk of the meeting was scheduled to be dedicated to answering questions raised by councillors and members of the public. These questions were submitted in advance to various transport providers, including Transport for London (TfL), Southern Rail, Southeastern Railway, and Network Rail.
Topics raised included:
Lewisham Station: Nick Patton of the Blackheath Society asked about plans to upgrade the lifts at Lewisham Station, citing that they are
old, unreliable, and often out of service for long periods
. Network Rail responded that they had recently undertaken repair and improvement work to the lifts, including upgrades to the doors and electrical system, and replacement of key components of the hydraulic system for the lift serving platform 4. They stated that over the last year, the average overall availability of lifts at the station has been 95.48%, but that there have been differences between the lifts. They also stated that there are no plans to replace these lifts as part of their current 2024-2029 investment plan. Nick Patton also asked about plans for a deep clean of Lewisham Station, to which Network Rail responded that Southeastern would provide an update at the meeting.Additionally, in response to a question from Councillor James-J Walsh about the major, costly feasibility studies into options for a major upgrade of Lewisham Station, Network Rail stated that the previous study was funded by HM Treasury through the Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline (RNEP), but that it was paused following the Covid-19 pandemic and is no publishable material arising from it. They added that they are currently working with Lewisham Council to identify opportunities to use existing Section 1061 and CIL2 funding to invest in further station improvements, such as new station entrances for platforms 1 and 4, aligned with nearby sites coming forward for development. They are also working with TfL to ensure that their planning for the potential extension of the Bakerloo line3 to Lewisham provides for improvements for the station, particularly for convenient interchange with the London Underground.
TfL added that they have recently requested a contribution from the developers of Lewisham Shopping Centre towards improvements at Lewisham Station, but these are likely to be smaller scale enhancements rather than significant capacity projects.
Forest Hill Station: Robert McIntosh, Chair of the Forest Hill Society, asked about efforts to prioritise the redevelopment of Forest Hill station, citing that while it has accessible platforms with lifts, the station buildings need to be upgraded, the approach to the station through the car park is unsafe, and interconnection for bus passengers and pedestrians is impacted by an inadequate crossing of the A2054. Network Rail responded that Forest Hill station is currently equipped with step-free access, barriers, sheltered waiting rooms on both platforms, a cafe, a ticket office, and two entrances/exits, and that consistent with the majority of other stations operated as part of the London Overground it does not have toilets. They added that while they do not have current plans to upgrade the station buildings or facilities, they would be interested in understanding any aspirations in this area that station users may have, and that they would support a wider pedestrian crossing of the South Circular, although it is not clear how this could be accommodated given the relative width of the South Circular and the proximity of buildings. TfL responded that they keep their highways, stations and other infrastructure under review and aim to tackle significant issues, but that they do not have allocated funding for improvements at Forest Hill Station at the moment.
Norwood Junction: Robert McIntosh, Chair of the Forest Hill Society, asked about news on the project proposal to upgrade Norwood Junction and improve accessibility, and also suggested that Forest Hill should have much better connections to East Croydon for travel South and to other parts of South and West London not on the Victoria Loop without having to travel into Zone 1. Network Rail responded that Forest Hill does not have platforms on the fast lines and the station footprint is not large enough to facilitate their construction without a complete rebuild, and that the slow lines are at full utilisation with London Overground and Southern services meaning the station cannot realistically serve as a larger interchange. They added that they continue to make the case for investment into the junctions and track layout in the Croydon area to improve capacity and reliability on the wider Brighton Main Line, and that improving the accessibility of Norwood Junction station was an important part of their previous proposals, but that the development of the wider Croydon Area Remodelling Scheme of which any redevelopment of Norwood Junction would be part was paused following the Covid-19 pandemic and is not currently funded.
Deptford Railway Station: Councillor Dawn Atkinson asked when barriers are likely to be seen at Deptford Railway Station. She stated that the lack of barriers gives way to those which are thought to deliberately come into Deptford to participate in ASB5, in particular the buying/selling of drugs, which is a huge problem in the local area and has increased in recent months.
Blackheath: Nick Patton of the Blackheath Society, asked about the plans to restore more of the direct Charing Cross rail services from Blackheath that were axed during/after the covid pandemic. Network Rail responded that Southeastern will be introducing additional services throughout 2025, including the 10:25 Charing Cross to Dartford via Blackheath and the 15:23 Dartford to Charing Cross via Blackheath in the May timetable, and four additional services every weekday on this route in the December timetable.
Bus Services: Councillor Liz Johnston-Franklin asked whether residents can be reassured that the TfL 284 Bus service will be reviewed for an improved arrival time after 8 pm, as residents have been raising concerns about the time schedule and reliability particularly after 8 pm, making women particularly feel uncomfortable and concerned about their safety as they have just finished work and need to return home, particularly for women residents who live in Foxborough Gardens as this is the only bus that serves the area. Additionally, Richard Holland asked whether the 181 bus will be returning to Grove Park station when the number 4 Superloop bus starts, or will it still turn around at Old Bromley Road. TfL responded that Route 181 will return to Grove Park Station on 7 April when Superloop 4 launches, running through to Grove Park where the last stop will be Stop C – Grove Park on Downham Way, and the first stop in the return direction will be Stop D – Grove Park on Downham Way.
Other Questions: Other questions raised by Councillor James-J Walsh covered a wide range of topics, including non-remote enforcement undertaken by TfL in Lewisham, the possibility of a DLR night service, investments in bus stop repairs and upgrades and line painting, assessments of street lighting lux levels, management of public spaces maintained by TfL, the situation with the Southeastern franchise, an overview of Network Rail's commercial portfolio in Lewisham, Network Rail's strategy to bring vacant units back into use, Network Rail's use of assets to create placemaking in Lewisham, investments to improve Network Rail's commercial assets, Network Rail's development sites in Lewisham, work being done to bring the north bound platform station house at Catford Bridge Station back into use, improvements to degraded commercial assets at the corner of A205 and Ravensbourne Park Rd, Network Rail's efforts to aid Wildlife and Biodiversity Management, steps Network Rail is taking to improve climate resilience, and performance updates for available reporting quarters.
Declarations of Interest
The agenda included an item for members to declare any personal interests they may have in the items being discussed. The Declarations of Interest document outlined the different types of interests, including:
- Disclosable pecuniary interests
- Other registerable interests
- Non-registerable interests
The document also provided guidance on how these interests should be declared and what impact they may have on a member's participation in the meeting.
-
Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between local authorities and developers, used to mitigate the impact of new developments on the community and infrastructure. ↩
-
The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a charge which can be levied by local authorities on new developments in their area. The money is used to fund a wide range of infrastructure improvements. ↩
-
The Bakerloo line extension is a proposed extension of the London Underground Bakerloo line from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham. ↩
-
The A205, also known as the South Circular Road, is a major road in London, England. ↩
-
ASB stands for anti-social behaviour. ↩
Attendees



Meeting Documents
Agenda
Reports Pack