Station Car Park
Please use this page to tell us your views on proposals for
- THE FUTURE OF SURBITON STATION CAR PARK
We have put out this communication to local press and residents:-
Surbiton Hill Councillors demand residents are fully consulted on plans to build 250 Homes on Surbiton Station CarparkSurbiton Hill councillors, Nick Kilby, Paul Johnston and Janet Bowen-Hitchens, have been informed that Bewley Homes and Network Rail are drawing up plans to redevelop the station carpark in Surbiton.Councillors first heard the rumour from a local retailer, and then asked the neighbourhood planning officer if the rumour was true and were informed that discussions have been taking place. They have now heard that secret consultation meetings have taken place with rail users but none are planned by the Developers beyond the consultation legally required.The ward councillors are now so concerned that the developers, Bewley homes and Network Rail are not going to ask residents opinions until the statutory consultation period, that they have written this weekend letters to all residents, with questionnaires, asking residents to tell them what information they would like from developers. In addition they have set up an information page on their ward blog and undertaken to ensure residents are kept informed and represented.Councillor Nick Kilby commented “It is extremely disappointing that such a large scheme will not be using accepted best practices for community consultation. Therefore, as ward councillors, we have decided to set up an information service.”As councillors we cannot and will not declare our own views until the time when the proposals come to the Surbiton neighbourhood but as ward councillors it would be remiss of us not to make sure residents are briefed properly. The developers should give everyone the opportunity to consider the implications of their plans. Residents’ voices should be heard before plans are submitted, their concerns should be addressed before this is heard by the Neighbourhood planning committee and finally the Development Control committee at The Guildhall.We will keep residents posted and will raise the issues they have with the developers in the months to come. In the meantime with Cllrs Paul Johnston and Janet Bowen-Hitchin, we have written to both Network Rail and Bewley Homes asking them to meet us and to undertake full consultation of residents in South Bank, Glenbuck, Arlington roads and the whole of the Oak Hill area before submitting any plans formally to the Council.”
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Surbiton Forum 
All,
this is one hell of a reason not to develop anything just yet at Surbiton Station carpark.
Click to access WLOSummary.pdf
It would be well worthwhile putting a stop on the site until we’ve had time to consider this scheme properly.
Even if this scheme is ultimately rejected, by developing on the station site, we would forever lose any other opportunity to get a properly integrated tube and rail service here.
The station carpark is of such strategic importance that any plans to use it for more housing is just plain crazy.
And moving on slightly, thats before we even consider that the existing infrastructure can’t even cope with recent developments.
The current school places crisis surely dictates that we should put a moratorium on all housing developments until schools are expanded to meet the demand.
Increasing school sizes / creating new ones can take several years to achieve, given the level of consultation and planning approval needed.
We simply can’t allow any more development until the infrastructure catches up.
So there you go, two reasons not to proceed with the station carpark development.
It would be great if you councillors can liaise with RBK planning department to establish how any development of the carpark could be forced to incorporate the West London Line tube scheme.
I would also suggest that RBK push for the scheme to be extended to Tolworth.
Courtesy of Tesco, there’s a very large redundant site that could be used for a terminus, or even a park and ride.
I hope,for once, that all parties at RBK will quit their petty squabbles and get behind this one.
Can I suggest that you push your newly powerful friend Boris on this one as well.
Not only does the scheme reduce congestion, it gives him the opportunity to redress the East /Inner London bias of Ken’s investments.
Put your energy into pushing this scheme for the good of all borough residents and forget petty squabbles about renaming carparks. A bit more vision is required.
Thanks for these very useful suggestions.
Thanks for starting this. Too much development has been going on in Surbiton in the last 18 months – changing pubs/houses into flats without any proper consideration of the infrastructure needs in respect of water, sewerage, electricity, gas, school places, transport, parking etc. This car park is heavily used by commuters who use trains to get to work, where will they park in the future? How on earth will heavy lorries negotiate the small congested hilly roads, a recipe for disaster in the area. I am happy to help in future discussions
Hi,
A belated thought on the carpark development.
If (and that’s a big if) the site is developed, then a very good community benefit would be the integration of the development with Surbiton town centre.
If you look at google maps at
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=st+andrews+road,+surbiton&sll=51.392327,-0.304683&sspn=0.001379,0.003326&ie=UTF8&ll=51.39225,-0.307102&spn=0.002758,0.010815&t=h&z=17
you can see that St Andrews Road links nicely into the site if access is built over the line.
A bridge / over line development would allow access to the carpark from surbiton town centre. It could also possibly allow deeper shops to be developed on Victoria Road.
This improved parking could give Surbiton an economic lift – especially at weekends when the car park would be two thirds empty.
Additionally, access to the station car park could be changed to be from Victoria Road only.
That could mitigate development impact on South Bank, Glenbuck, Arlington roads and the Oak Hill area.
Oh, and an additional benefit could be enhanced exits from the station – if two trains come in at once during rush hour, you can wait 5 minutes to get out.
Its dangerous as well.