Meeting on the site of the proposed Highgate Depot for Tubelines – one of the two private consortia now responsible for our Tube’s infrastructure.

They want to build a large control centre which (when it goes live in about six years time) will deliver real improvements to the Northern Line. God knows it needs it. As a twice a day Northern Line user – the delays are endless. This control centre will – when up and running – not only deliver more trains per hour – but also a much faster journey time. Hurrah!

However, the control centre is to be built at the back of Lanchester Road and quite visible from Highgate Wood. So – there are many concerns raised by residents and local groups about the visual and conservation aspects. Hence the meeting.

No planning permission is actually needed but Tubelines said they were keen to engage with residents. They’ve put out leaflets and are holding a public meeting on 4th November.

The main issues of concern raised by residents were about the position of the proposed building in relation to houses, the windows in the side, vehicle movements in and out of the site on the access road, the height of the building and location of rooms within the building, planting to screen the building and security. The concerns of the conservation groups were planting, wildlife and the impact on views from the woods.

Tubelines were very accommodating in terms of answering and trying to resolve all the above – even to the extent of considering my suggestion that they excavate and thereby drop the overall height of the building. No promises – but a clear willingness to mitigate as much as possible all of the residents concerns.

Hopefully at the meeting, this will continue to be the case – and both Tubelines and local residents will feel that they have an agreed accommodation to meet both sides’ needs.