Dear Edmonton Green Councillors
I am contacting you because Picketts Lock is just at the top of the Edmonton Green Ward. You may be aware that there is a
Crossrail 2 consultation presently underway that closes early January and that the proposed route runs through Edmonton. What you may not be aware of is that the route will almost entirely miss Lower Edmonton and the entire N9 postcode due to there being no station proposed for the area despite it being in the heart of the Mayor's Upper Lee Valley Opportunity Area. Angel Road and Ponders End will provide some benefit but are not within reasonable walking distance and lack adequate bus connections.
A station at Picketts Lock would however place Lower Edmonton and the 52,000 residents in N9 (2011 Census) within 21 minutes of Tottenham Court Road with sixteen trains per hour.
Click Here for Crossrail 2's fact sheet on the branchhttps://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/crossrail2/october2015/user_upload.... However, Enfield Council presently are not lobbying for the potential station in the ward and I am hoping to develop a lobby towards Enfield at least asking Crossrail 2 whether they will consider the viability in light of it looking likely that the Broxbourne branch will be granted. Note, that once Angel Road station is shifted south of the A406 and becomes Meridian Water, that it will be in Upper Edmonton and Edmonton Green Ward will no longer have a Crossrail 2 station.
I am hoping that if this idea interests you that you can contact me to discuss potential avenues for moving towards Enfield Council calling for the new station.
Below is an image from the Crossrail 2 consultation website. There you will clearly see that there is a two mile gap between Angel Road and Ponders End. Note, the gap will widen yet when Angel Road is shifted south of the A406 and becomes Meridian Water. Versus the two mile gap where a station at Picketts Lock could be, all other stops are one mile or less apart between Tottenham Hale and Cheshunt. Demand is clearly high in the area for transport, with nearby Edmonton Green being Enfield's busiest railway station, and whereas N9 has 52,000 residents and no Crossrail 2 station, EN3 has just under 60,000 residents and three Crossrail 2 stations at Ponders End, Brimsdown and Enfield Lock
Furthermore, Picketts Lock is served by the W8 and 191 bus from Edmonton Green, with the W8 providing Crossrail 2 access for people as far away Bush Hill Park. It would also be possible to extend other east to west buses presently terminating at Edmonton Green by 5mins journey to a bus interchange at the new station. Those include the 24hr 102 to Brent Cross, the 144 to Musswell Hill and the W6 bus to Southgate. The new station would therefore relieve overcrowded routes via Seven Sisters from Edmonton Green that will be beyond capacity when Crossrail 2 is finally built.
Whereas {a new station at Picketts Lock] has been considered and discounted in the past, in context with the Stratford to Angel Road project, it has not been properly assessed in context with Crossrail 2, where the rails are already paid for and where sixteen trains per hour would be delivered.
The about to be put forward a
Central Leeside Area Action Plan for the Picketts Lock area states that there will be little growth in this area, despite significant growth being planned for Angel Road and Ponders End. Is this putting the cart before the horse, and wouldn't there be significant demand for regeneration should a station be granted here? There are certainly acres of brownfield sites that could support sustainable mixed use development, because if Angel Road can support a £1.5bn regeneration at Meridian Water with just four trains per hour, Picketts Lock can certainly outshine that with 16 trains per our on Crossrail 2 with potential scope for estates renewal and more such as that presently happening at Ponders End, noting that this project is for 15 years time. By that time development at Meridian Water will be well underway and demand will begin to shift northwards.
I also note a recent article in the Enfield Independent stating that Enfield is facing a housing crisis with 100,000 new residents expected in the next two decades. The article cites risks that failure to adopt a sound local plan to deal with the projections could result in it being taken over by DCLG. Planning for growth with new stations such as Picketts Lock must surely be part of the solution, also contributing to focusing growth in existing areas to take pressure off the Greenbelt:
A station here would also provide access to Picketts Lock Athletics Centre. Here is an article in The Guardian about the failed World Athletics bid at Picketts Lock:
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/oct/05/athletics.artsA new station was proposed alongside delivery of a 43,000 seat stadium and the Mayor sought the new station to facilitate access. No doubt it collapsed when they realised that the existing line cannot deliver the necessary six trains per hour, though the official reason was because Wembley was being re-built at the time and government could not commit to both schemes. Given that a Crossrail 2 Station here would be 20mins from Tottenham Court Road, the existing centre leisure centre could attract significant leisure investment. Maybe even attracting another football team to the area in time. Whereas there is presently potentially an over-supply of venues in London, by 2030, when Crossrail 2 opens, London will have at least 11 million people and today's over provision will become tomorrows under provision.
I would be very interested to know whether you object to Enfield Council not supporting a bid for a station at Picketts Lock given that it has nothing to loose in making such a request and whether any of you have any suggestions regarding further lobbying and advocacy for the N9 postcode in relation to Picketts Lock.
Yours sincerely,
Philip Ridley_________________________________________________________________________________
Pickett's Lock new station Chronology
www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/7069/tpftla_n.html#Pickett">http://husk.org/www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/7069/tpftla_n.html#Pickett
2001 Sep 17
According to the Enfield Gazette, plans for a station between Angel Road and Ponders End stations arose in 1996 but were blocked by Charlton Road residents
In July 1999, Enfield Council stated that a station at Pickett's Lock Lane was proposed. No timescale was given
In March 2000, hopes for a station rose (although nothing was certain) as Pickett's Lock was chosen as the venue for the 2005 World Athletics Championships, and as Britain's possible candidate for the 2012 Olympics. Tottenham Hotspur FC and Enfield FC also expressed interested in using the new stadium
In July 2000, Haringey Council stated that a new station at Pickett's Lock was among the items being evaluated by the steering committee which would deliver a transport plan for the 2005 World Athletics Championships
In November 2000, funding for the new stadium was said to be uncertain and the possibility of the 2005 World Athletics Championships being taken away from Britain and awarded to another country was raised
In March 2001, a Lea Valley Regional Park source suggested that the station was unlikely to be built before the 2005 championships
In June 2001, it was reported that the station would cost up to £50m (Editor's note: I can't comment on the accuracy of this extraordinarily large sum, especially since this area is already earmarked for resignalling) (Note also, this sum would include for a large part the laying of a mile of new tracks that would be covered by general Crossrail 2 budgets).
