A £45m bill for step-free access at Peckham Rye station has been branded "scandalous" by policy researchers and campaigners. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh launched a petition on Tuesday to secure the funding for the project in her constituency.
The development, which had government funding pulled last year, involves demolishing a nearby art gallery to build lifts to a narrow platform. Planning records indicate that builders will need to use handheld tools to carve through brick walls of the Grade II-listed station, completed in 1865, to preserve the original structure.
Additional costs are attributed to conditions for a "high quality finish" requiring patterned bricks and London's green space regulations mandating a "biodiversity roof" with greenery and solar panels. A Network Rail spokesperson stated the upgrade would also deliver a new station entrance, improved passenger circulation, enhanced facilities, and better integration with the local public realm, while protecting the station's heritage.
Lawrence Newport from the campaign group Looking for Growth described the multi-million pound bill as a "sad example of how the country is constantly held back by sky-high infrastructure costs." David Lawrence of The Centre for British Progress called it "scandalous" that Britons overspend on projects.