Plans to develop London Underground’s historic Grade I listed headquarters in central London have been revealed.<\/p>\n
Transport for London (TfL) wants to turn 55 Broadway in Westminster into a “landmark residential development” with affordable and private housing.<\/p>\n
The building, built for the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, is currently used as office space.<\/p>\n
The plans will be displayed from Tuesday to Friday at St James’s Park station and submitted next month.<\/p>\n
TfL said it hoped the “radical new plans” would generate up to \u00a33.5bn which would be reinvested in London’s transport network.<\/p>\n
Graeme Craig, director of commercial development at TfL, said: “Our aim is to make life in London better and help keep the city working and growing.<\/p>\n
“This means recognising our role as the custodian of one of London’s largest and most valuable property portfolios and developing our assets for the benefit of the city.”<\/p>\n
But Labour’s London Assembly housing spokesman Tom Copley said more needed to be done to make sure the development did have affordable housing.<\/p>\n
He said: “The mayor should be doing all he can to ensure that this development includes the highest proportion possible of affordable housing. That means truly affordable, not the mayor’s 80% of market rent level which is hardly affordable to anyone.<\/p>\n
Bomb damage
\n“The mayor and Transport for London need to go back and look again at the weighting they are giving to affordable housing on the Broadway development.”<\/p>\n
Westminster City Council said the original plans had not included affordable homes and those that had been introduced would not exceed 40% of the residents’ income for rent.<\/p>\n
In a statement it said: “We welcome projects that increase affordable housing in London and create more jobs for people in Westminster. Regeneration projects should benefit local residents.”<\/p>\n
The building was designed by Charles Holden between 1927 and 1929 for the forerunner of London Underground.<\/p>\n
It suffered considerable bomb damage during World War Two.<\/p>\n
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