Charing Cross exits

[eoff]

Was in London last week.
North-of-Strand exits are mentioned on signage but a TFL FOI request (link below) says the exits are closed...

FOI request detail

FOI request detail

tfl.gov.uk

 

[Wolfie]

Was in London last week.
North-of-Strand exits are mentioned on signage but a TFL FOI request (link below) says the exits are closed...

FOI request detail

FOI request detail

tfl.gov.uk

View attachment 147062

The exit brought you through a small group of shops. The whole area is shuttered off. I assume Westminster City Council will be looking to do something with the space.

 

[thomalex]

As the FOI states the various subways and entrances around Charing Cross are owned and managed by Westminster Council with TfL only having responsibility for the ticket halls. Separately the subterranean shopping arcade is being redeveloped to become part of retail units accessible from the street.

Two of the entrances I am curious about are the entrance from the west side of Trafalgar Square which seems to have its shutters closed every time I go past and also the entrance on the north side of the Strand which has had a black box erected around it. I'm not sure what the long term plan is with both of these entrances.

I would say that the Westminster Council subways are fairly dingy and in need of some investment. For such a central area they certainly feel neglected.

 

[Wolfie]

As the FOI states the various subways and entrances around Charing Cross are owned and managed by Westminster Council with TfL only having responsibility for the ticket halls. Separately the subterranean shopping arcade is being redeveloped to become part of retail units accessible from the street.

Two of the entrances I am curious about are the entrance from the west side of Trafalgar Square which seems to have its shutters closed every time I go past and also the entrance on the north side of the Strand which has had a black box erected around it. I'm not sure what the long term plan is with both of these entrances.

I would say that the Westminster Council subways are fairly dingy and in need of some investment. For such a central area they certainly feel neglected.

They do indeed. Reminiscent of those at Westminster before they were done up.

 

[AlbertBeale]

As the FOI states the various subways and entrances around Charing Cross are owned and managed by Westminster Council with TfL only having responsibility for the ticket halls. Separately the subterranean shopping arcade is being redeveloped to become part of retail units accessible from the street.

Two of the entrances I am curious about are the entrance from the west side of Trafalgar Square which seems to have its shutters closed every time I go past and also the entrance on the north side of the Strand which has had a black box erected around it. I'm not sure what the long term plan is with both of these entrances.

I would say that the Westminster Council subways are fairly dingy and in need of some investment. For such a central area they certainly feel neglected.

The entrance on the west side of Trafalgar Square (actually on the west/south-west corner of the roundabout, I think, in fact) is surely a Bakerloo entrance. The two on the south-east corner of the square, on the north side of Strand (one in the corner of the square itself, one by the corner of S A House) are also for Bakerloo access. The access points further east along Strand, by the Duncannon Street junction, are the subways to the main line (and to the Underground in fact) which are currently being redeveloped.

 

[jon81uk]

The exit brought you through a small group of shops. The whole area is shuttered off. I assume Westminster City Council will be looking to do something with the space.

The closure is nothing to do with Westminster Council, its the landlord of the building which houses Coutts, they are removing the shopping arcade and using the basement for other purposes.
As always IanVisits has an article https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/charing-cross-underpass-to-close-33026/

Edit to add, although I think as others have said Westminster Council did have responsibility for the bits that weren't the basement shops or the TfL or National Rail station, but I think it is the shopping arcade closing that has caused the Westminster managed subways to close too.

 

[hermit]

It was a direct way of getting from Villiers Street to William IV Street (and the passage to the Coliseum) without having to cross the Strand at street level. Particularly useful if it was raining.

But in recent years it certainly felt unloved and a bit threatening and I don’t think we need lament its demise.

 

[Wolfie]

The closure is nothing to do with Westminster Council, its the landlord of the building which houses Coutts, they are removing the shopping arcade and using the basement for other purposes.
As always IanVisits has an article https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/charing-cross-underpass-to-close-33026/

Ah, TY.

 

[Horizon22]

That exit/underpass is/was also a major problem for anti-social behaviour and the BTP don't have juridstiction there (despite people often calling them) to deal with it and Westminster Council never had the resources either.

 

[Wolfie]

That exit/underpass is/was also a major problem for anti-social behaviour and the BTP don't have juridstiction there (despite people often calling them) to deal with it and Westminster Council never had the resources either.

It absolutely was. The amount of hassle l got there....

 

[eoff]

OK then, so back to the obvious, why are the exits shown on the signs inside the underground station?

 

[Wolfie]

OK then, so back to the obvious, why are the exits shown on the signs inside the underground station?

Because the signs haven't been replaced!