East London is getting a brand new train station
After years of delays, Beam Park station on the c2c line out of Fenchurch Street has finally been granted final approval
Plans for Beam Park station have been ongoing since 2002. In that time, the UK has gone through seven prime ministers, Facebook was born and grew into a megacorporation and London gained hundreds and hundreds of shiny new skyscrapers. Yet, the east London station has only just been granted permission to be built.
Last week, the housing secretary has now confirmed that ‘a new Beam Park rail station could be accommodated within the existing rail network’ to help speed up house building. The decision comes five years after the government refused to grant the station approval, despite plans being in their advanced stages.
Beam Park station will sit on the c2c line between Dagenham Dock and Rainham. From there, the train will take just 20 minutes to get to London Fenchurch Street.
The station is being built as
part of a huge redevelopment in the area. So far, more than 1,100 homes have been completed and a further 1,200 are currently under construction. The first residents of Beam Park moved in back in 2020, but they’ve had to rely on local buses in order to get to other parts of the city. The addition of the station is expected to unlock potential for a whopping 20,000 more homes in the wider area.
Now that it has been given the green light, the Greater London Authority, London Borough of Havering, Transport for London and partners are working to secure the funds needed to make the station reality.
In a statement, leader of Havering Council Ray Morgon said: ‘We have always said that we would do all we can to ensure Beam Park station is built. We are grateful for the support from the Ministry for Homes, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) Homes Accelerator in helping to get to this point.
‘The station is much needed for Beam Park and neighbouring Dagenham, which will enable housing and business growth in this key area. It is also a key piece of infrastructure that will support the existing community in south of the borough. Without a station, the area will remain in a transport vacuum.
‘Clearly, because of the delays in getting to this point, the costs have gone up due to inflation, labour and material costs. We have said that we are supporting the GLA and other partners who are looking at solutions to try and meet the gap.’
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