Save Our Balham - Supporters' Meeting.
7 pm - Wednesday 14 September
St Mary's Church. Balham High Rd. SW12 9BS
The next supporters’ meeting of Save Our Balham will be on Wednesday 14th September 2016. 7 – 8.30 pm at St Mary and St John the Divine Church. Balham High Road. London SW12 9BS.
We are very pleased that Leonie Cooper, Greater London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, will join us and update you.
A copy of our August Update is attached at the bottom of this email as background. Come along this Wednesday evening to hear our latest updates.
On 26 August 2016, the Wandsworth Guardian ran a piece suggesting that Tooting Broadway might be back on the table for the Crossrail 2 station.
If you cannot make it to our meeting this Wednesday, and have not yet done so, show your support for a Crossrail 2 station at Tooting Broadway, by signing the petition of Rosena Allin-Khan MP.
Rosena has a petition on her website to bring Crossrail 2 to Tooting Broadway – and, as the local MP, is actively encouraging as many local people as possible to sign -
http://www.drrosena.co.uk/crossrail-2.html
Rosena’s constituency covers not just Tooting but also much of Balham. She is a strong advocate of the major benefits which Crossrail 2 would bring to Tooting Broadway and in early August she met the head of Crossrail 2 in Tooting to help make the case.
Dan Watkins has also asked us to remind you that local people can also give their views via his survey at
http://www.balhamortooting.org.uk.
Please come along to hear our updates and next steps this Wednesday evening. The room holds around 60 people – so kindly let us know if you plan to come along. Thanks to those of you who have already done so. Please reply to
info@saveourbalham.org.uk
best wishes from
the Save Our Balham team
11 September 2016
e-mail :
info@saveourbalham.org.uk
Facebook –
http://www.facebook.com/saveourbalham
Twitter - @saveourbalham
Save Our Balham –
Early-August Update
Here is the latest Update from Save Our Balham.
There is a change of gear on Crossrail 2 activity. A lot is going on and the next two months are critical. Tooting Broadway could yet become the preferred route.
Next week we understand that there will be an initial discussion by the high-level Crossrail 2 Programme Board about a Crossrail 2 station at either Balham or at Tooting Broadway. An ‘in principle’ decision by the Crossrail 2 Board now seems probable in September. The agendas and papers for these meetings are not public, so we don’t know exactly. In our view, the case for a Crossrail 2 station at Tooting Broadway remains extremely strong.
In all the documents published by Crossrail 2 to date, Balham remains their ‘preferred route’. But, it is becoming ever-more evident that this thinking does not stand up to detailed scrutiny. And here’s why.
On 27 July, we met Crossrail 2 to ask them how their financial models and broader socio-economic assessments would inform the decision between Balham and Tooting.
So far, the only benefit analysed in any kind of depth by Crossrail 2 on Balham and Tooting is the expected transport benefit. Namely, relief for over-crowding on the Northern Line. This is much-wanted by every person who travels on our section of the Northern Line. Once Crossrail 2 is running in 2033, the models show an expected benefit to Northern Line users. This is regardless of whether a journey starts at Tooting or at Balham. Initial Crossrail numbers on Northern Line relief, show Tooting to have an edge over Balham.
But, and much to our surprise, it became evident that Crossrail 2’s early analysis of other possible benefits - to be unlocked from siting a station at either Balham or at Tooting Broadway - fell seriously short. This is an important gap, because the benefits side of the equation will help off-set the costs. In particular, the currently available material from Crossrail 2 makes no serious or in-depth assessment of the relative benefits of a station between Balham and Tooting for :
New homes – including, critically, affordable homes ;
The relative contributions to growth and to local re-generation ;
The scope for future jobs and growth in the long-run – especially regarding the future for St Georges Hospital and the medical school in Tooting.
We strongly made the point to Crossrail 2 that their current evaluations seem to significantly under-estimate the long-run benefits for the Tooting area. At the same time, their assessments do not seem to fully factor-in the likely costs to Balham.
So, based on our discussions with Crossrail 2,the Tooting Broadway option needs urgent re-consideration.
We have therefore urged Crossrail 2 to re-assess their plans on the long-run benefits which could be unlocked for Tooting and nearby areas. This needs to be done as soon as possible, to better inform the forthcoming decision by the Crossrail 2 Board.
Save Our Balham has had a busy July and early August.
This is what we have been doing :
Deputation of Save Our Balham to Wandsworth Council's Services Committee (5 July 2016). Our deputation was invited to speak at the discussion on Crossrail 2 at Wandsworth Council’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Save Our Balham Supporters’ Meeting – 13 July 2016. A well-attended meeting at St Mary’s Church. We were joined by colleagues from Wandsworth and Lambeth councils, Wandsworth councillors, Streatham Transport Action Group and others. One item for discussion was the Crossrail 2 document, published on 7 July : ‘Response to Issues Raised’. However, this did not address the question of Balham and Tooting. Join us at the next Save Our Balham Supporters’ Meeting on 14 September 2016 at 7 pm at St Mary’s. More details at the end of this Update.
Meeting with Crossrail 2 on their cost-benefit models and socio-economic assessments for Tooting vs Balham (27 July 2016). As noted above, this was an important discussion. There is a pressing need to revisit the way benefits are being estimated for Tooting and the costs for Balham.
A meeting with Rosena Allin-Khan MP (2 August). Rosena’s constituency covers not just Tooting but also much of Balham. Rosena is a strong advocate of the major benefits which Crossrail 2 could bring to Tooting Broadway and she recently met the head of Crossrail 2 in Tooting. Rosena has a petition on her website to bring Crossrail 2 to Tooting Broadway – and, as the local MP, is actively encouraging as many local people as possible to sign -
http://www.drrosena.co.uk/crossrail-2.html
In September, Save Our Balham will meet the leader and deputy-leader of Wandsworth Council. With election ‘purdah’ now over, the Council is making a strong case to bring Crossrail 2 to Tooting Broadway. Save Our Balham supports the council’s efforts.
The Managing Director of Crossrail 2 has agreed to meet Save Our Balham in September. We want a meeting while this is still meaningful - before a decision is ‘locked-in’. Save Our Balham will stress that theTooting Broadway option needs serious re-consideration: in particular, Crossrail 2 must revisit their current inadequate assessments of the long-run benefits for Tooting and nearby areas.
The next two months are extremely important for re-instating Tooting Broadway as the Crossrail 2 ‘preferred route’. There is already considerable support for Tooting. This continues to gain ground. Make your voice heard for the right decision in favour of Tooting Broadway.
Write to your local MP
Sign the petition of the Tooting MP -
http://www.drrosena.co.uk/crossrail-2.html
Write to your local councillors and London Assembly member.
Tell your neighbours. Tell your friends.
This autumn will see a new consultation from Crossrail 2 - in which they will publish their preferred route. Help us to make common sense prevail, so that south-west London can benefit and thrive in the future from the best transport solutions. With your continued support, commitment & active help, Tooting Broadway can still be chosen by Crossrail 2 as their preferred route.The next supporters meeting of Save Our Balham will be on Wednesday 14 September 2016. 7 – 8.30 pm at St Mary and St John the Divine Church. Balham High Road. SW12 9BS.
Please come along to hear updates and next steps. The room holds around 60 people – so kindly let us know if you plan to come along –
info@saveourbalham.org.uk
best wishes from
the Save Our Balham team
7 August 2016
e-mail :
info@saveourbalham.org.uk
Facebook –
http://www.facebook.com/saveourbalham
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