'Use Crossrail levy to extend Tube'

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Wandsworth council wants to use “Crossrail tax” on the Northern line instead

'Use Crossrail levy to extend Tube'

Ruth Bloomfield
24.08.09

A London council is calling for millions of pounds of Crossrail cash to be diverted to extend the Tube network.

Mayor Boris Johnson is imposing a levy of 2p in the pound on developers across London to help pay for the £16billion project.

Wandsworth council chiefs want to use the "Crossrail tax" to fund improvements to the Northern line instead, including stations near Battersea Power Station and New Covent Garden Market on a new spur. This extension, being considered by Transport for London, would meet the Northern line at Kennington.

Leslie McDonnell, chairman of Wandsworth planning committee, said: "Crossrail will have little or no benefit for people living in this area. We are discussing with the Mayor the possibility of some sort of surcharge for developers to help pay for the extension."

Wandsworth wants a £488,000 Crossrail levy from a planned 42-storey tower at Bondway, Vauxhall, to go to the spur. But TfL said funding would not be diverted from Crossrail, which would benefit all boroughs.