Extension = regeneration

Nigel Pennick, in describing the London Underground Northern Line extension as a “vanity project” ( RAIL 839), gives the impression that a billion pounds is being spent on extending a Tube line to the abandoned and disused power station at Battersea, and hence that the line will “not have a proper function”. Of course, the power station per se is not the point of the line extension. Anyone passing by this area on the main line track into Victoria will see that the state of the old power station is not the issue. What they will see is development around the power station on an extraordinary scale, as thousands of new residences are constructed, requiring a transport link to central London.

He also ignores the fact that the project is not simply a line to Battersea, but also includes a new station at Nine Elms, providing wider regeneration across the Vauxhall area.

The official figures quantify this as 20,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs, with the project supported by the Mayor of London and the three London Boroughs involved.

Mr Pennick’s views on the merits or otherwise of preserving the old power station are irrelevant to the discussion of the merits of building the Northern Line extension to that area.

I have no connection at all with the project or the area, and just watch developments with interest. I write simply so that others who are less aware of what is happening at Battersea may have a more accurate picture of the value of this project. Steven Wallis, Maidstone