Report Outlines How Gunnersbury Could Be Made Step Free

FoI request reveals work done on accessibility at the station

A visualisation of Turnham Green Station in the future. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

December 22, 2024

Further details of plans to make Gunnersbury Station have been revealed following a Freedom of Information request.

Transport for London (TfL)  said that the review of the station carried out by Assael Architecture was already publicly available, but it was not shared as part of the consultation on the conversion of Chiswick Tower which concluded recently.

It had already been confirmed that the repurposing of the building from office use to shared living apartments along with the development of housing on the car parks at the rear of the station, would be done in a way that would allow step free access to be implemented.

The newly available report gives much more detail on how this might be achieved although the developer is only proposing to facilitate any upgrade rather than pay for it as part of the broader scheme.

Assael are suggesting lifts at the station could be accessed by a new walkway over the platforms with existing canopies being removed, in an adaptation of design originally proposed by ARUP in 2011. The bridge that currently links the car parks on either side of the platform would be incorporated into the station with an expanded entrance area to give access to the lifts which would open in the centre of the platform. The lifts would also be accessible to passengers entering the station from the southern side via Wellesley Road and Grange Road. The developer has said in talks with Network Rail and TfL that the road bridge would be made available to allow this design to be implemented. This includes allowing access to the car park areas for construction work related to the station enhancements.

Designs showing how new lift would be accessed. Picture: Assael Architecture

The developer is offering a phased implementation of its scheme which would allow detailed designs to be drawn up and funding to be secured. The station entrance and lifts could be completed before work was started on the housing to be built on the car parks.

The architect also believes that the station entrance area can be significantly increased by incorporating a triangular piece of land to the south of the ticket office currently unused. This would enable the installation of up to three additional ticket gates and the station area would be increased from 244 sqm to 310 sqm.

The road bridge above the station would be used to facilitate accessibility. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

There have been a number of attempts to upgrade Gunnersbury in recent years as it has struggled to deal with an increase in usage as a result of the Chiswick Business Park development. Access to the station both from the north and the south is by narrow corridors and the platforms are also narrower than current guidelines. At busy times, including on days of Brentford FC fixtures, a queuing system operates to avoid the station becoming overcrowded and the station sometimes need to be closed to passenger entries at peak times.

Narrow corridors at the station have added to issues with overcrowding. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

Attempts to come up with designs to ease overcrowding date back to 2011 when engineering firm ARUP proposed three potential options but these were constrained by TfL and Network Rail standards and ultimately decided to be impractical.

ARUP did propose a similar scheme to that being put forward by Assael (option D) but it was felt that the remoteness of the lifts from the ticket office might cause management issues and it was thought unlikely the owner at the time, BSI, would not be willing to hand over the bridge linking the car parks for station use. However, of all the options being considered, this was the only one that would have been fully compliant with industry standards.

In 2017 a scheme drawn up by architectural firm Grimshaw, which was also shared as part of the FoI request, envisaged a shopping arcade underneath the office block with a new station entrance at the centre of the platform. With the current proposal for a refurbishment and conversion of the tower, this option would not be available.

The existing station entrance is not visible from Chiswick High Road. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

The more recent Assael proposals stick with the existing point of entry to the station which means that the issue of narrow corridors to access the platform would still exist but it would enable a significant increase in the size of the ticket hall.

A planning application is expected to be submitted in the new year for the development of the whole site. The Chiswick Tower would be refurbished and re-clad to deliver a co-living development with office space on the bottom two floors. Affordable housing would be provided in a new 9 storey annex building facing Chiswick High Road and more housing would be provided on the two car parks at the rear of the station.

A visualisation of the development viewed from Chiswick High Road from consultation documents

During consultation events the developer has been clear that, while its designs will allow for the introduction of step free access at Gunnersbury by not impinging on any plots that might be required, it is not going to pay for the project.

Although Gunnersbury station is managed by London Underground and serves the District Line and London Overground services, it is owned by Network Rail. As a result of this, Gunnersbury is eligible for Access for All funding ( AfA) which is a Network Rail funding programme. This May it was named as one of a number station, also including Kew Bridge, that was to receive funding for a feasibility study into how any step-free scheme would be implemented. If this report concludes that step-free access is practical, further funding will be made available.

The new lifts would emerge in the centre of the platform. Picture: ChiswickW4.com

It is understood that, should funding be available and the proposed development be approved, TfL would manage the station upgrade project which would require separate planning approval. Should the project proceed, there is likely to be significant disruption to services at the station during the construction period including periods of closure.