FOI request detail

Clapham South underground station

Request ID: FOI-1142-2122
Date published: 16 September 2021

You asked
Dear Transport for London, The 'Secrets of the London Underground' programme broadcast this week revealed that at Clapham South there is a massive, 8,000 person capacity, WWII bomb shelter that is apparently unused today. The show had shots of some of it still having the bunk beds from the period, though apparently this is not true of most of the 1 mile of tunnels down there. a) Has the site been used for anything since the 1950s b) Do you know what its state is in terms of usability as emergency accomodation now (does it conform to H&S regulations, how difficult would it be to get it up to necessary standards?) c) Are there plans for it to be used for anything in the foreseeable future - I have vague memories of a possible hydroponics farm in a similar facility. Equally it would be good to see it used as hostel accommodation for backpackers!

We answered


TfL Ref: 1142 - 2122

Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 27 August 2021 asking for information about Clapham South tube station deep-level shelter.
 
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy.  I can confirm that we hold the information you require. Your questions and our replies are as follows:

a) Has the site been used for anything since the 1950s? The site has been used as a hostel for several year in the 1950s and as an archive storage site from the 1980s to 2008. It was vacated for a period of time while development work happened above. The site is currently leased to the London Transport Museum (LTM) for tours.

b) Do you know what its state is in terms of usability as emergency accommodation now (does it conform to H&S regulations, how difficult would it be to get it up to necessary standards?) The site does not conform to modern building standards, but the LTM has undertaken a lot of works to allow the tours to take place in a safe and managed way. For the site to be used in any capacity as a shelter or accommodation it would require in the region of £20 million pounds worth of investment. This is based on investigations carried out by the LTM.

c) Are there plans for it to be used for anything in the foreseeable future - I have vague memories of a possible hydroponics farm in a similar facility. Equally it would be good to see it used as hostel accommodation for backpackers! As mentioned above, the site is leased on a longer term basis to the LTM and while they have investigated turning the site into a full museum, the costs are prohibitive to a charity organisation such as the LTM. TFL have looked at other uses for the above ground areas of the property  - please see the following link for more information on this -  https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/general/rotunda-clapham/consult_view/  but again, due to the investment required these were not taken forward at the time. The site is not suitable for hostel accommodation.


If you would like to undertake further research on the deep-level shelter then you would be very welcome to visit the search room in our Corporate Archives when we re-open (hopefully from January next year). In the interim, colleagues in our Corporate Archives department have conducted some initial searches of their catalogue to give you an idea of what we have that might be of interest, but as with most enquiries since March last year the following material will only be available once they are back on site. The exception are the Metro Travel News pages which they have available digitally so they can provide copies of these remotely if they are of interest.
 
ArchiveRefNum Title Date_Of_Document Description
LT000029/004/005/004/215 Metro Travel News: New Lease of Life for Historic Shelters 23 Dec 2015 Main article on park-side rotunda building opposite Clapham South Tube station to be turned into a new restaurant or café with exhibition space by TfL. Also includes article on celebrating great station architecture.
LT000029/004/005/006/195 Metro Travel News: Plan your Weekend Travel 13 Oct 2017 Main article on Transport for London (TfL)'s weekend engineering and improvement works affecting travel. Also includes small articles on engineering works in Reading, Diwali celebrations in Trafalgar Square and screenings of World War Two film reels at Clapham South Underground Station.
LT000029/004/005/006/200 Metro Travel News: Plan your Weekend Travel 19 Oct 2017 Main article on Transport for London (TfL)'s weekend engineering and improvement works affecting travel. Also includes small articles on the end of a closure for an Overground service between Gospel Oak and Barking, screenings of World War Two film reels at Clapham South Underground Station and improvements to TfL Rail.
LT000029/004/005/006/239 Metro Travel News: Digital Tools to Keep You on the Move 14 Dec 2017 Main article on travel advice over Christmas. Also includes smaller articles on Hidden London film screenings at Clapham South Underground Station and a meet and greet with staff members at Euston Station. Also includes an advertisement for checking travel over Christmas.
LT000029/004/005/007/117 Metro Travel News: Exploring the History of Windrush 21 Jun 2018 Main article about London Transport Museum (LTM) tours of Clapham South Station’s deep-level subterranean shelter to mark 70th anniversary of Windrush. Includes smaller articles on Windrush sound installation on Emirates Air Line cable car and free Windrush events at City Hall and advertisement about Transport for London (TfL)'s fleet of greener, cleaner air buses.
LT000044/002 Underground - Shelters and Wartime Operation 1 Jun 1968-5 Oct 1970 Reports concerning the shelters at Clapham South station, wartime train service and tunnel construction between Clapham South and Belsize Park.
LT000172/031 London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB): Chief Engineer Contracts Numbers 345-392 1940-1941 Contracts, tenders and agreements for air raid shelter construction, Balham (ventilation), Borough, Aldenham depot (buildings), emergency works at Lots Road and Greenwich power houses and other properties, repairs to war damage, Euston (ventilation), flood protection works, sanitary arrangements at tube stations, dormitory accommodation at stations, erection of bulkheads in running tunnels, sewage ejector plants at tube station shelters, Central Line (CEN) tunnel conversion into factory premises, deep level shelters at Stockwell, Clapham North, Post Office, Chancery Lane, Goodge Street, Belsize Park, Camden Town, Oval, Clapham South and Clapham Common Stations, air raid shelter at Morden, etc, deep level shelters tunnel linings, air conditioning at Pleshey Factory, Ilford.
LT000172/031/034 Contract for Deep Level Shelters at Clapham South and Clapham Common Stations 10 Jul 1941 Agreement made with Charles Brand and Sons Limited.
LT000172/031/035 Agents for the Minister of Home Security: Home Office Tunnel Shelters. Specification Clapham South and Clapham Common Stations [circa 1941]  
LT000176/022 London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB) Contract for Deep Level Shelters at Clapham South and Clapham Common Stations Jul 1941 Agreements and conditions with Charles Brand and Company.
LT000176/205 London Passenger Transport Board (LPTB): Contract for Deep Level Shelters at Clapham South and Clapham Common Stations 10 Jul 1941 Sealed agreements and conditions with Charles Brand and Sons Limited.
LT000963/014 Station - Deep Level Shelters 3 Jun 1954-15 Jun 1954 Correspondence concerning a survey of deep tunnel shelters at Belsize Park, Camden Town, Goodge Street, Stockwell, Clapham North, Clapham Common and Clapham South Stations.
LT001203/056 Planning - Modernisation - Clapham South 19 Jul 1978-19 Jan 1979 Correspondence and memoranda concerning improvements to Clapham South Station.
LT001455/427 Staff - Accommodation and Amenities - Offices, Shops and Railway Premises (OSRP) Act - Clapham South 15 Nov 1968-8 Jul 1988 Memoranda and correspondence concerning alterations and refurbishment of staff accommodation and amenities at Clapham South Station. Also includes details of cost estimates.
LT001896/133 On the Move Magazine Issue 87 Mar 2003 Includes articles on: Central line disruption, customer security, Duty Manager training programme, Clapham South station, Wembley Park station redevelopment.
LT001932/029 Northern Line Premises Surveys 1993 This file contains premises surveys for Stockwell, Wimbledon, Tooting Broadway, Tooting Bec, Clapham South, Kennington and Oval stations. Information includes cost estimates and programmes, photographs, drawings, principal findings and recommendations. Also includes a premises survey for Union Road vent.
LT001934/091 Southern Stations Feasibility Studies Jun 1998 This file contains an executive summary, proposals and cost estimates for Clapham North, Morden, Clapham South and Colliers Wood.
LT002009/205 Assignment of Leasehold Premises Known as Addison House, Balham Hill, Surrey 20 Dec 1906 Assignment made between Thomas Cato Worsfold of the one part and Henry Smith Goodson of the other part. The words "Clapham South Deep Tube Shelter" are written on the back of the document.

Should you require any further information from our Corporate Archives, please look at their website which includes link to resources and our online catalogue: https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/corporate-archives, or alternatively email them on [email protected].

You can also make an appointment to visit the Museum Library to do research. The Library is open Wednesdays and Fridays 10:30 – 16:30. For more information about the Library and visiting see the Museum website: https://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/collections/library


If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.

Yours sincerely


Sara Thomas
FOI Case Management Team
General Counsel
Transport for London
 

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