Richmond Station set for £1.5m revamp

People who commute from property to rent in Richmond can look forward to a new £1.5 million forecourt at Richmond Station, it has been confirmed.

The long-awaited improvements to the station and the layout of Kew Road are likely to start in January, after Transport for London (TFL) agreed in principle to fund the project.

Planners hope that paving over the forecourt will make life easier for people to get in and out, as will a new taxi rank, while there will also be a drop-off and pick-up area for other vehicles.

Buses will have double the space they currently have as part of the new development and the bus lanes in Kew Road will be removed to improve traffic flow.

This will also allow the pavements to be widened.

In addition, the raised brick islands in the carriageway will be demolished and the current zebra crossing will be replaced with a light-controlled version.

Discussions are ongoing with interested parties and the local council hopes the revised proposals will gain good support.

The council is convinced the scheme will improve the situation at Richmond Station for train passengers, buses, taxis, motorists and pedestrians alike.

Councillor Chris Harrison, Richmond Council's cabinet member for highways, said the forecourt has become heavily congested over the last few years, a situation which creates a poor first impression for people arriving in the town.

He remarked: "We do believe most concerns have been dealt with in our new plan and I'm pleased that we have an 'in principle' agreement from TFL for the funding. Our task now is to work through the finer details and secure support from all our partners.

"When it is finished, Richmond - our busiest town - will have the modern spacious gateway local people and businesses deserve and, at the same time, motorists will find it much easier to drive through the town centre," Mr Harrison added.

Last month, the council's RichmondCards scheme was hailed as a great success after figures were released showing they were used over 12,000 times during July.

This was up from 1,999 instances in June, as drivers took advantage of 30 minutes' free on-street parking.

Posted by Chris Price

Published 9th September, 2011

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