Cllr Steve Hamilton is a councillor for Sands End Ward

William from Sands End has written to me. He writes that he works in Victoria and is excited by the prospect of a 4 minute commute from Imperial Wharf. He adds “We are a better option than a Chelsea Station, which is an area with better transport connections than Imperial Wharf. There would also be much less impact on local residents. I think it’s a great idea that I wholeheartedly support”

Karla writes “I use both the underground and Overground networks frequently. The nearest underground (District Line) is not as reliable as other networks and is always overcrowded. To get to the Overground network from the District Line adds extra strain and potential delays. Is use Imperial Wharf today and I love the service offered, a few more lines (Crossrail) would be a huge benefit to me and my family and my neighbours, I would use it most days and would no longer need to use the District Line. Thank you for leading the cause! Crossrail is an excellent initiative. It will greatly improve the lives of commuters and support business.”

Alice has written too – “It would be amazing for getting to central London. My sister can get to work more easily in Angel”

Joel says “It’s a great idea! Most residents around Imperial Wharf work in central London. Please stop here! Love it!”

Caroline writes “Get to work faster. Reduce congestion and make trains less stuffed. Perfect place to build a station. Great idea!”

Omma writes “it will help me get to work”

Lorna writes “I work near Euston so it would be far better for me if a station was at Imperial Wharf as closer to my flat and faster and cheaper. Good idea and needed.”

I have seen many more responses from Sands End residents, providing their views on Crossrail 2 and the currently unofficial proposal for an interchange at Imperial Wharf, and the responses almost uniformly sing the praises of the plan – the most common ‘objection’ can be summed up the another Caroline, who writes “Why does it have to take so long?”

Crossrail 2 is a vital new railway, and will help London and the wider south east to continue to thrive economically.

All of the stations on Crossrail 2 are designed as interchange stations, well except for one – the proposed station on the Kings Road.

This station has received lots of objections from local residents. Lucy thinks “it would spoil the ‘village’ nature of Chelsea, but would bring much needed improved transport links to South Fulham” – actually Lucy is another Sands End resident.

However I don’t think we should be concerned over the huge objections ongoing in Kensington and Chelsea about the station.

Instead we should be highlighting the majority support for locating the station in the local area, plus the many benefits of the Imperial Wharf site, that cannot be realised by a non-interchange station.

Catherine realises this, writing “It will improve current (often overcrowded) train/tube links in the area. There is an existing station which will provide further connections to other locations in London (west) for Crossrail 2 users. Kings Road could not offer other line (tube) options.”

So does Doug who writes the following “Point to note on busy “match days” the Crossrail would entice people to travel in via Crossrail rather than by car reducing the bad traffic levels when Chelsea FC and Fulham FC are playing. Excellent idea. Strongly support.”

Currently TfL have only undertaken limited investigation into the impact of a station at Imperial Wharf.

They estimate that 30% more residents would use an Imperial Wharf station in the morning than one on the Kings Road, with more than 6,000 people entering the station in the morning peak, including nearly 1000 fewer people using Fulham Broadway – this assumes no changes to local buses.

It is reasonable to assume that were additional bus capacity available the station would be even more popular.

In addition, they estimate that there would be 1,600 passenger interchanges between Crossrail 2 and London Overground in the morning peak– there would also be a related reduction in crowding at West Brompton and on the District Line.

TfL have not considered the financial benefits in land costs, capital receipts from redevelopment or potential Section 106 developments, but they have acknowledged there is a significant potential in the local area.

I think the construction of Crossrail 2 and the provision of an interchange station at Imperial Wharf is an excellent idea.

Cllr Jane Law is a councillor for Sands End Ward

I am delighted – as a Sands End councilor – that there seems to be agreement between the parties to support and campaign for the siting of a Crossrail 2 station at Imperial Wharf in my ward.

Furthermore, unlike the Kings Road site, there is overwhelming public support for the Imperial Wharf option as well.

Sands End has had large scale developments in the recent past and is expected to undergo significant amounts of further regeneration in the future. Even with the successful delivery of the overground station at Imperial Wharf by the last Administration the transport infrastructure in Sands End is in desperate need of upgrading.

The main transport spine of Sands End is the A217 – more commonly known as the Wandsworth Bridge Road.

Figures from the Department of Transport show – that in the 12 months to September 2015 (the latest figures available) the speed of traffic on the Wandsworth Bridge Road suffered the greatest fall in speed of any road in West London – a fall of 35.8%.

We don’t need a 20mph speed limit as the average speed is just…………..7mph.

I am sure that I do not need to state that this crawling traffic contributes significantly to poor levels of air quality and health outcomes for my residents.

The congestion on the Wandsworth Bridge Road will only get worse once the unwanted and unloved Thames Tideway Tunnel aka the Super Sewer, construction gets underway after Easter.

A new station at Imperial Wharf would also relieve congestion on the Wimbledon branch of the District line – the most heavily congested section of the whole of the underground network. In engineering terms, changing the route of Crossrail 2 – to Imperial Wharf – we have been informed, will actually lead to faster journey times as the route would actually be straighter that if a station were sited on the Kings Road.

Mike Brown, the TfL Commissioner, has stated that the proposal is ‘being seriously considered’. We – as a council – must ensure TfL is in absolutely no doubt that – along with residents – that this Council is fully supportive of the proposal for a Crossrail 2 station to come to Imperial Wharf.

A former member of this council once stated that ‘a tide of concrete is sweeping through Sands End’. Whilst we welcome the opportunities that regeneration will bring, we need to ensure the proper infrastructure is in place to support the new jobs and the new residents that regeneration brings.

A Crossrail 2 station at Imperial Wharf will vastly improve the quality of life of present and future Sands End residents. There surely can be few duties of a Local Authority more important than improving its residents’ quality of life.