CGI image depicting what the development would look like
(Picture: TfL)A proposal to build homes on a car park next to Cockfosters Tube station has been blocked by Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary.
The development would have seen four towers ranging from five to 14 storeys high, with 351 flats for rent. 132 of them would have been affordable.
The plans were approved by Ealing Council in February, but had been opposed by some locals over concerns about loss of parking and the height of the towers.
On Friday, Mr Shapps revealed he had blocked the proposal in a letter to Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers, who had campaigned against the scheme.
He said: “I have taken the decision to reject this application as I am concerned that the parking provision at the station would be inadequate following the development proposed by TfL.”
Under the plans, parking at the station, the last stop on the Piccadilly Line, would have been reduced from 336 spaces to around 35 in order to accommodate the homes.
Mr Shapps said he has asked TfL to submit new plans if they wish to pursue the development.
Ms Villiers said: “This may not be the end of the story. The Mayor of London and TfL may try again with a new proposal. But for the moment we have saved Cockfosters from tower blocks”.
Mr Shapps’s decision means TfL is unable to grant a long-term leasehold for the area covered by the Cockfosters development as it stands.
A TfL spokesperson told the Standard: “We can confirm that on 25 February we received the decision from the Secretary of State.
“We are now taking the necessary time to understand and consider the implications and available next steps that result from the decision.”
Speaking in favour of the proposals during the February hearing, Ben Tate, head of property development at TfL, said the plans would “help tackle the housing crisis and generate long-term, sustainable income that can be reinvested back into London transport networks”.
“We can provide much-needed, quality housing, open space with integrated play space, and make the area in and around the station safer,” he said.
However, welcoming the news, the Save Cockfosters campaign, which lobbied against the plans, said: “We’ve WON.
“[Grant Shapps] is quite rightly concerned about the impact of the loss of the car park on transport users.”
“So for now, we have Saved Cockfosters!”
