Step free access at Ladbroke Grove, Latimer Road and South Kensington.
Request ID: FOI-2397-2324 Date published: 02 November 2023
You asked
I would like to know how many internal meetings have been held since 2019 on extending step-free access to Ladbroke Grove, Latimer Road and South Kensington Tube Stations.
I would like to know, within the limits of the FOIA, how advanced discussions on step-free at these stations is, and whether the named stations are under active consideration for step-free.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-2397-2324
Thank you for your request received on 6 October 2023 asking for information about step free access at Ladbroke Grove, Latimer Road, and South Kensington.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. Together with the Mayor, we are committed to ensuring London’s world-class public transport network is accessible for all Londoners. Since 2016, we have worked to reduce additional average journey times for people who need accessible routes by 40 per cent which has transformed public transport in London. Around a third of Tube stations, half of Overground stations, most piers, all tram stops, the IFS Cloud Cable Car, and all DLR stations have step-free access. In July, we announced the next London Underground stations to be prioritised for step-free access. These ten stations, spread across London, were identified using an approach focused on the benefits to customers and reflecting issues that impact the delivery of step-free access, such as the feasibility of new lifts, sufficient space for work to be carried out and the depth of each London Underground station. The approach has also been influenced by our consultation on step-free access, which took place in 2021 and saw 5,500 responses. Studies will now be carried out to determine a way forward at each of these stations. Subject to funding being identified and outcome of feasibility studies, this could mean the works to make the first of these stations step-free completing in 2026. Although South Kensington, Ladbroke Grove, and Latimer Road were not part of this tranche we are keen to make further improvements to accessibility on the London Underground network. However, investigations into the viability of step-free access will be constantly reviewed for all stations. The status of these three stations is as follows: • South Kensington station is the subject of a major redevelopment scheme for which planning consent is being sought. As part of this project, it is proposed to install lifts to provide step-free access to the ticket hall, museums subway and District line platforms. A further phase of this scheme will involve the installation of further lifts to provide step-free access to the Piccadilly line platforms, thereby making the entire station fully accessible. • A feasibility study looking at step-free access and capacity enhancements for Ladbroke Grove station was undertaken in 2021. Two bids for funding from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to finance the further development and implementation of this scheme have been made by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea but unfortunately these were unsuccessful.
• We have carried out a thorough review of all stations without step-free access to identify which stations have the highest benefit for customers and which stations are the most deliverable. Latimer Road was included in this review and TfL has plans to review more stations for feasibility in 2024 and 2025 with the support of funding partners and the input of key stakeholder groups
We are actively looking for funding from third parties to support step free schemes, so that TfL can achieve more across the network.
Unfortunately, to provide the information you have requested on how many internal meetings have been held since 2019 on extending step-free access to these stations would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the FOI (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004. Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described. We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take in excess of 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested. We do not hold a central record of when this issue would have been discussed. It will have been referred to in several different contexts, for example future planning, customer service, accessibility, and by several areas of the organisation. Many of these discussions are likely to have little to no written record. However, it would likely take considerable time and resources to establish this. To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a FOI Act request in future, please bear in mind that the FOI Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might consider limiting your request to a particular team or if you have specific questions then we can try to answer those. Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request. Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request. In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
