A project to build housing on top of Arnos Grove tube station’s car park will start next month, after which the car park will be closed to the public.
The plans to close the car park and build housing was controversial, and although the council initially refused planning permission in 2021, this was overturned on appeal in March 2021.
What’s being planned is for there to be four blocks of flats built for rental, with the blocks on one side set further back so that they don’t overwhelm Charles Holden’s tube station. The proposed scheme of 162 rental homes also provides 64 affordable units, 40% by habitable room, in the form of discount market rent.
On the issue of the loss of car parking spaces, previous surveys of the car park users found that a third were within walking distance of the tube station, half within walking distance of a train station, and 68% close to a bus route. Just 1.2% were not close to some form of alternative public transport.
The planning inspector concluded in the appeal that the loss of the car park was “unlikely to have a significant effect on the ability of the public at large to access public transport services”
The car park, which has a capacity for 292 cars, had been expected to close last November, but it’s now been confirmed that it’ll close permanently from Monday 13th March 2023.
Construction work is expected to be completed in 2026.
There will still be temporary Blue Badge parking provided during construction, and permanently once the flats have been completed.
A TfL spokesperson said: “Ahead of construction beginning on much needed new homes for Londoners, we will be closing the car park next to Arnos Grove Tube station on 13 March 2023. This will allow work to deliver 162 new homes for rent and a range of public realm improvements, including a new public square to commence. It will also help to encourage people to travel to and from the station sustainably, with several bus routes serving the station. All Blue Badge parking spaces will be re-provided once construction is complete and plans will be in place to ensure any disruption during construction will be minimised.”
I’m wondering if there is still a chance someone will poo-poo this idea..
Like who?
The time for appeals to either the courts or the Secretary of State has long past.
All these new station adjacent flats should come with a free TFL season ticket. Most of the objections are from locals who worry about more cars being parked in the area.
Most of the objections are people assuming that motorists who use the car park will still drive and drop their cars off in local streets — there’s been minimal complaints that the new flats will lead to there being more road congestion, as the flats don’t have space for the new residents to have cars.
The war on motorists slowly grinds on.
I’d rather homes for people than homes for cars.
I am worried about all these people moving into area with no extra resources , and a lot of areas with these new developments have seen crime spike as inner city councils rent and offload their problem families , also looks like the pubs being flattened too , like plonking all this into a ghost town
It’s 162 flats – hardly a major increase in the local population. When you have a large development, the planning regs require extra resources to be provided for, or funded for.
Do you have a document showing how new developments spur an increase in crime?
Speaking for myself the closure is just a bit of a pain and it’s probably the sake for many people.
99% of the time I travel in I walk to my local tube station (20 minutes). If however the entire family was travelling in with bags, or we would get back late at night with the kids, it was a very helpful option. No one wants to wander the streets at 11pm with a 5 year old so hopping straight in the car was great. I’ll get over it but it does seem very little benefit for removing something so helpful to the public.
I was there last Saturday (when I found out it had shut incidentally) and had to park a 10 minute walk away because every on street parking space was full for probably a mile. It definitely wasn’t like that before.