The Bakerloo line is set to be extended beyond Elephant and Castle to Lewisham, thanks to new devolved powers announced by John Healey. The plans allow Sadiq Khan and other mayors to retain a share of business rates and income tax receipts locally to fund infrastructure, freeing up cash in the capital for the Tube extension and expansion of Euston station.
New Stations and Routes
The extension will create new stations at Burgess Park and Old Kent Road, plus a stop at the existing New Cross Gate. In addition, the devolution will enable the creation of four new London Overground stations between Hounslow and Hendon under the West London Orbital project.
Khan hailed the plans as a 'devolution revolution', having long campaigned for the Bakerloo extension to improve transport links south of the river, which is less well-served by the capital's trains.
Funding and Impact
The funding will also help make Stratford International a global hub, bringing cross-channel rail services to the station – something Khan has lobbied for for years. The expansion to Euston station, set to cost £50,000,000 to run HS2 through it, had been uncertain due to funding until these new powers were announced.
For now, 20% of business rate revenues will go to mayors, while the Chancellor pledged 100% of the rate will stay local by the end of the decade. From 2028, a share of income tax receipts will go to mayors as well.
Devolution 'Revolution'
Healey said: 'By giving London the ability to keep more of the money we raise, we can invest billions of pounds more in our future, helping to finally unlock transformational infrastructure projects such as the West London Orbital, the Bakerloo Line Extension and the Euston knowledge quarter project, supporting tens of thousands of new homes, jobs and economic growth.'
'Proper devolution is something I have been calling for years, and this government gets the scale of the ambition needed where previous governments have failed,' he added. The devolution strategy was dubbed the 'biggest transfer of power out of Whitehall in a generation' by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
