Plans for a restaurant using long-closed parts of Brixton Tube station have been submitted to Lambeth council by Transport for London.
It would stand at the back of the station on Electric Lane and next to Five Guys burger takeaway – looking out on to what is, at present, a dark and run-down street where drug dealing is open.
There is a now-disused a rear entrance to the station on Electric Lane.
A drawing of the proposed development appears to show little change to the structure of the station as a whole.
Local campaigners for a late-night public toilet in Brixton have often suggested that it could be sited in or near the Tube station.
TfL’s property company Places for London said in its application that the part of the station it is proposing to use “is now surplus to operational requirements” having once been used as “recreational space” for Tube workers.
A change of use and associated improvements to the façade “would improve the character and appearance of Electric Lane and the Brixton conservation” [area] and “positively contribute to the Brixton Creative Enterprise Zone and the Brixton Major Town Centre and Primary Shopping Area”.
Places for London said that the former rear double door entrance to the station would not be affected by its proposal which would not prevent it re-opening in the future.
The organisation met Lambeth council planning officers in August last year and says they were “broadly supportive” of its proposals.
“Overall, these proposals will provide an important improvement to Electric Lane by providing an active frontage which can help alleviate current issues around anti-social behaviour and make this significant pedestrian route more welcoming,” Places for London said.
