London’s newest train station, Brent Cross West, received final approval by Barnet Council’s planning committee this week (Wednesday 13 May).

Barnet Council held its first planning committee since the Covid-19 pandemic caused public committees to be temporarily suspended. Held virtually, committee members considered, and unanimously approved, the reserved matters application for the detailed design of the new Brent Cross West Station.

The approval of the design of the new £40 million, four platform Brent Cross West Station is another significant milestone in the delivery of the ambitious Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme. The state-of-the-art station will be the gateway to Brent Cross South, the new neighborhood at the heart of the development. It will also provide new transport options for the communities already living in Brent Cross, reaching central London’s Kings Cross St Pancras Station in under 15 minutes.

The station will be built by VolkerFitzpatrick, one of the country’s leading station construction companies. VolkerFitzpatrick was awarded the contract to build the station in December 2019. Work to clear the site will begin in June with the main works to build the station due to start in January 2021 and be completed in 2022.

Ensuring access for all

As well as a striking design that has be developed to be light, airy and as safe as possible for passengers, the station has been carefully designed to be accessible for passengers with mobility issues or other access needs.

Working with the Brent Cross Consultative Access Forum, Brent Cross West will be the first mainline station outside of central London to install platform humps that ensure there are level boarding points on to the trains from the platform, in addition to offering step-free access from street level to the platforms.

The delivery of the Station will also put an emphasis on supporting the local economy, ensuring over 20% of the people working on the build are residents of Barnet or the neighbouring Brent and Camden boroughs.

Councillor Daniel Thomas, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “The approval of the design of the new £40million Brent Cross West Station is another significant milestone in the delivery of our Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration programme. The state-of-the-art station will provide a new transport gateway to our vibrant new town centre Brent Cross South, and communities already living in Brent Cross.”

See here for more information about the Brent Cross West Thameslink Programme.

You can read the planning document here.