Southwark Greens support the cross-party local campaign for a tube station at the Bricklayers' Arms.

At a well-supported demonstration on Saturday 4 November, Peter Wright from Living Streets demolished the claim that it would be ‘too close’ to other tube stations – it’s farther to any of the nearby stations than the average distance on the Bakerloo line. Simon Hughes pointed out that the original plans for the Jubilee line didn’t include a stop at Southwark – now a very busy station. Caroline Pidgeon pointed out that major investment and disruption are already proposed for the construction of a ventilation shaft - constructing a station would be a relatively small additional cost. And a tube station need not be a large building, since most of the business happens below ground – Bermondsey tube station is a good example of this.

Eleanor Margolies from Southwark Green Party affirmed the local party’s support for a station at Bricklayers' Arms and asked for it to be set in the context of local travel needs.

Eleanor said:

Look around at this roundabout to see just how much space is given over to motorised vehicles here. It’s hostile to people on foot, on bicycle. It’s also toxic – with illegal levels of air pollution. If you or anyone you know suffers from asthma, heart or lung disease, and children – they are being affected right now.

We need transport solutions that work for people living here today, not the promise that stations will be subsidised by new private housing further down the Old Kent Road. The residents who are living here now need healthy infrastructure.

Everyone who uses the Bricklayers' Arms station is going to get here on foot, or by using a wheelchair, a pushchair, a bus or a bike. The station needs to be linked up to other improvements in this area.

We need:

1) protected cycle lanes the whole length of the Old Kent Road

2) Boris bike stations all the way down to New Cross and east of Tower Bridge

3) clean buses

So that people will be able to mix and match their transport, come to Bricklayers' Arms station on the tube and then hop on a bus or walk home safely with attractive, safe pavements and crossings.’

Background

Check out the current pollution levels on the Old Kent Road here

So far in 2017, the levels of PM10 particulates have exceeded a daily average of 50 microgrammes per metre cubed on more than 19 occasions.