Work to improve the area around Waterloo station and the pedestrian links to the South Bank could get underway after the planning work was awarded to Grimshaw Architects.

At the moment, the front of the railway station is dominated by the taxi rank and road, with pedestrians having to cross several roads to get to the South Bank. While the main York Road can’t be pedestrianised, there is an ambition to improve the cluster of traffic islands in front of Waterloo station to offer a more plaza-like space to use.

The contract was awarded by Lambeth council, which is part-funding the work in partnership with Network Rail and other private partners. The planning work is expected to take around nine months to complete, and has been allocated a £343,166 budget, with a 20% contingency fund. The council’s contribution of £100,000 is met through capital funding already allocated, with the rest coming from a mix of local business groups and several local companies.

The intention is to develop a vision for the transformation of Waterloo Station and its immediate environment and consider how this can create stronger links and public realm across the Waterloo and South Bank neighbourhood.

The interim report is expected in March 2023, and the final masterplan proposals delivered in May/June 2023. After that, it’s a case of putting the ideas into practice and getting started on building work.

There are unrelated plans to demolish the row of offices to the north of Waterloo station and rebuild them, and that will also see a lot of local improvements to the streets around the entrance to Waterloo station. That development is also going to include a lift shaft to provide step-free access to the Northern line at Waterloo station, although there’s a gap in the funding which still needs to be found if it is to be opened by TfL.