Approval granted to turn Barons Court tube station green

About 25 years ago, Barons Court tube station in west London was painted the wrong colour, and approval has been granted to repaint it the correct colour — green.

The station opened in 1905 for the District line, and a year later the Piccadilly line started calling there as well. Inside the ticket hall, it’s very green, and the platforms should also be painted in District line colours, but in 1996-97, the station was repainted in a terracotta and maroon paint scheme.

Transport for London (TfL) wants to repair damaged and worn parts of the station platforms and, at the same time, correct the paint colour mistake from the 1990s.

Amusingly, as that required a planning application to permit changes to a railway station, TfL had to be consulted to check if TfL objected to TfL making changes to a TfL property.

TfL expressed no objection to the plans.

The officer’s report said that the proposed refurbishments of the staircases and platform areas, comprising like-for-like replacement of the timber elements in the canopy, associated works to strengthen the columns, replacement of cracked glazing and polycarbonate sheeting with new glass in the staircase, and general repair and refurbishment, would not result in any significant alterations to any heritage assets.

Following a planning meeting last week, Hammersmith and Fulham Council has approved plans so work can go ahead, and are likely to take place next year.

There’s also an unrelated but likely to be carried out a the same time application to add cameras in the canopy above the platforms — as part of the Piccadilly line upgrade programme.