LOCALS THINK THEIR LONDON UNDERGROUND STATION IS CLOSING FOR GOOD AFTER 'POORLY WORDED' PETITION

Residents were left worried their local Tube station could be closing for good after a "poorly-worded" petition sparked panic. The ‘Stop the closure of Lancaster Gate Tube Station’ petition, which has 934 signatures, suggested the West London station had closed, leaving commuters to use other nearby stations.

The petition, launched by Lancaster Gate councillor Ellie Ormsby, said: “Lancaster Gate Tube Station is a vital transportation hub that serves thousands of commuters every day. It provides easy access to some of London's most popular tourist attractions, including Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens. Unfortunately, over the last few weeks we have seen frequent and unexpected closures, which is having a devastating impact on the local community, residents and businesses.”

But the title of petition caused panic among residents with the Conservative’s Leila Cunningham calling it “misleading” and causing unnecessary panic. The fellow Lancaster Gate councillor told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I had a lot of people contacting me to say ‘Oh My God is this closing?’ and I said it wasn’t but they said the petition said ‘closure’. It’s not closing and they [Labour] caused unnecessary panic and if you wanted to be honest I would 'say stopping the closures' [meaning the constant temporary closures]. It’s misleading.”

Councillor Cunningham said Lancaster Gate Station has been shuttered for the last fortnight but said there were no plans to keep it closed longer term. She also hit out at claims the station was closed because of “underfunding” by the Conservative Government. Instead, she blamed London Mayor Sadiq Khan and what she called was the ‘mismanagement’ of Transport for London (TfL).

She said: “Look at who is in charge of TfL, the police and the fire brigade. It’s the Mayor and some of them are under special measures. We’ve also never had so many strikes in London. You can’t blame everything on the government. You have to take responsibility for his actions.”

TfL said the closures were caused by a lack of available staff, with workers calling in sick or being sent to other stations to cover worker shortages. A spokesperson for the Mayor said the pandemic "put unprecedented pressure on the transport network in London" and said the effects are still being felt. They added: “TfL is doing everything possible to avoid future closures of Lancaster Gate station, working to address local staffing issues and progressing recruitment, which had to be paused during the pandemic."

Regardless, the closures are causing residents to travel an extra 15-20 minutes to get home, councillor Ormsby said. The Labour councillor said TfL needed to stop consistently prioritising other stations and have better contingency plans in place for staffing.

She said: “We were getting a lot of emails from people about it shutting. The Royal Lancaster Hotel contacted us and said they were concerned because they host conferences and events. They have some 500 coming in and they struggled to get there. I don’t know how [TfL] manages their stations but they need a better contingency plan. We don’t want to see any other stations close.”

The councillor’s petition said the closure of Lancaster Gate Tube Station was forcing residents to use other stations like Queensway and Paddington, which she claims are already overcrowded and struggling to cope with demand. Councillor Cunningham said the Tube is "the vein of London" and that Sadiq Khan had to do better if he wanted to increase economic growth in the capital.

She added: “It is not right in this cost of living crisis to cause more stress. I think the aim of a politician is, to me, to be honest and reassure people and not cause unnecessary panic unless you have the facts.” Councillor Ormsby said keeping Lancaster Gate Station open “isn’t a partisan issue” but was quick to blame for the Tories for not giving the transport body more money. She also claimed the petition is clear and called on anyone who is confused to contact her.

Tony Devenish AM, City Hall Conservatives' environment spokesperson, said the closures at Lancaster Gate were “ridiculous”. He said: “Under Sadiq Khan, the world’s greatest transport network has become a joke. The disruption at Lancaster Gate is ridiculous and is causing mayhem for customers."

A TfL spokesperson said: “We apologise to customers whose journeys have been affected by the recent issues at Lancaster Gate station. We are aware of the inconvenience that station closures can cause and only close them as a last resort, after exhausting all other possible options.

“However, on some occasions it is unavoidable as certain stations cannot safely remain open without a certain number of staff. Since 2019, station closures have largely been due to an increase in staff sickness absence, mostly linked to the pandemic.

“The RMT's latest action short of strike, which covers the Lancaster Gate station group, is also significantly contributing to the station’s recent closures. We are working to address these local issues, are doing everything possible to ensure the station stays open, and are progressing recruitment that was paused during the pandemic.”

The Mayor's spokesperson added: “With regards to strike action, the Mayor warned the Government that some of the conditions ministers insisted were part of the emergency funding deal with TfL, including changes to pensions, could lead to industrial action, which we are seeing. The Mayor will continue to work with TfL and the unions to address these challenges and to ensure London continues to have a world-class transport network.”

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2023-05-30T14:16:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd