Current Events & News
News - May 2026
Two Steps forward, One Step Back
The recent pre-election announcement, by the outgoing Labour led Lambeth Council, over the commissioning of a Feasibility Study for Loughborough Junction station was positive news. We understand this investigative study will be occurring during 2026 and any recommendations will be published later this year.
Coincidently, at around the same time, planning approval was also given by Lambeth Council for The Arch Co. to undertake the refurbishment of three arches adjacent to Loughborough Junction Station. This development is already underway and appears destined to prevent, delay or make far more complicated and expensive, any of the urgent accessibility and safety works that may be identified for the station through the Feasibility Study.
Eastern Alleyway - this is planned to be the main pedestrian access to the Arch Co. units which will be between 1.6 metres and 3.4 metres wide
Unsurprisingly, with Lambeth and Southwark having a huge number of arches, these boroughs form a major plank in the Arch. Co's. current Project 1000 strategy to bring hundreds of unmodernised, vacant and abandoned arches into commercial use.
Strangely, the Arch Co. have chosen to commence this particular element of their ongoing town centre development in Loughborough Junction with the least accessible and cost effective arches possible, locked in as they are by residential premises on both sides and with limited access possible for the essential servicing and deliveries, provision of accessible WC's, waste and recycling storage, bicycle storage and clear emergency escape routes, let alone the safe access to and from these units by the general public.
There is nothing preventing The Arch Co. developing any number of arches on behalf of their Billionaire US masters, Blackstone, providing works are done in full compliance with building and planning regulations, however given the major and lasting impact these type of projects will have on small communities like Loughborough Junction, which is dominated by its Victorian viaducts, it falls to Lambeth Planners and local residents to ensure that all Arch Co. development proposals are closely scrutinised.
Western Alleyway - demolitions and concerns for premises in Station Avenue, where fire escape routes may become inaccessible
Due to the scale of these projects occurring in Lambeth and Southwark and the many issues, queries and complaints that have been generated previously, The Arch Co. would almost certainly benefit from keeping communities fully informed and having regular meetings with local residents, residents' organisations, local forums and business groups, rather than just liaising with local authority Planning Departments and carrying out development without any stakeholder input.
LiftUpLJ welcomes any development providing it offers tangible benefits to the built environment of Loughborough Junction and the quality of life of our community, but we have serious concerns that the current Arch Co. refurbishment of the arches under LJ Station cannot achieve these ambitions.
March 2026 - Lambeth Council announce a new Feasibility Study for Loughborough Junction
Lift Up LJ, the campaign for urgent improvements at Loughborough Junction station, have welcomed Lambeth Council’s recent announcement about the funding of a feasibility study in 2026.
This will examine options to accommodate not only vital step-free accessibility improvements, but also long-overdue safety infrastructure works at both platform and street level.
The campaign particularly noted the statement by Lambeth Council’s Deputy Leader that Lambeth “looks forward to working with local people as this project progresses”.
The campaign has important local knowledge, relevant to the design and scope of the feasibility study, that it is anxious to share from the outset with the Council and also with Network Rail, and is now pressing the Council for an
early meeting to discuss these critical details.
Speaking for Lift Up LJ, local campaigner Nick Lewis said “The value of a feasibility study, and its credibility with the growing number of station users, depends on its legal scope as well as the willingness of local and national authorities to push the project forward, which is why we look forward to working closely with the Council and
Network Rail at this critical early stage of the project.”
Loughborough Junction and its population is growing rapidly, stimulated by recent and current major residential developments and supported by over 40 thriving businesses run by a diverse and welcoming local community. In addition, we are welcoming the continued expansion of new clinics and staff accommodation
associated with King’s College Hospital.
This project therefore represents a unique opportunity to improve the quality of life, health and wellbeing of this neglected area of Lambeth.
Party Games - 2026 Local Election
The work to make Loughborough Junction Station both safe and accessible for our community is an important, complicated, expensive but essential project that will require the collaboration and cooperation of a number of individuals, groups and organisations, but most importantly at this early stage, we need our council, its leader/CEO, the cabinet, councillors and its officers to work with the local community to achieve our collective aim.
Ultimately, our campaign for a safe and accessible station at Loughborough Junction is apolitical and Lift Up LJ will work cooperatively and collaboratively with any and all parties along with the officers at Lambeth Council to try and achieve something rather special to improve the lives of local residents and businesses and in particular the large proportion of our community who are elderly or disabled or those with children, buggies who find themselves effectively locked out of the train network due to the situation at Loughborough Junction.
We are of course grateful for the ongoing and key efforts from Helen Hayes MP (Labour) who has worked extremely hard for years in making the case for improvements in accessibility at Loughborough Junction and other stations within her Dulwich and West Norwood Constituency.
Cllr. Deepak Sardiwal (Labour), Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction ward, has also been a solid supporter of the Lift Up LJ campaign and we also welcome his efforts to work with us for this immensely important project.
More recently, Lift Up LJ is pleased to note that the Green Party has adopted Loughborough Junction station as a key part of their current campaign and we recently welcomed the Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski as he joined the Green candidates for the Herne Hill & Loughborough Junction ward, Paul Valentine, Ciara Alleyne & Alan Andrews on the campaign trail for the 2026 Local Election on 7th May.
In observing a similar campaign at Peckham Rye recently, it really positive to see the local MP, all the local Councillors, Officers from Southwark Council and Network Rail all sharing a platform and demonstrating to an extremely well organised campaign group and many local supporters, (over 200 persons gathered on a Monday evening), how effective a joined up, positive and productive campaign can operate when key individuals from all parts of the borough work together towards a common goal.
We sincerely hope to achieve something similar at Lambeth and Loughborough Junction, in order to try and develop a lasting and positive legacy for our long-suffering community.
Campaign Launch Event 8th September
The Lift Up LJ campaign launch occurred on Monday 8th September.
We were based at Junction Cycles and had some wonderful visitors and various members of the campaign who were active in speaking with the commuter traffic and others who came by the station.
It was particularly nice to see a number of locals who had mobility issues attending outside the station, where access in and around the public realm space outside the station is poor and access within the station is pretty near impossible!