The government has pulled previously promised funding for the scheme

Plans to install lifts at Palmers Green Station have been ditched after the government pulled previously-promised funding for the scheme.

In a Department for Transport (DfT) announcement this month entitled ‘Improving accessibility at railway stations across Britain’ the government’s rail minister confirmed that DfT would not be improving accessibility in Palmers Green.

Lord Peter Hendy’s announcement said the project would be “indefinitely deferred as the benefits such upgrades would deliver to users of the station would not justify the significant disruption caused to other users” as well as “the significant costs to passengers and taxpayers”.

Fears were raised in 2024 that the accessibility project might have “hit the buffers” as Network Rail apologised to residents for ongoing delays. It had been in the works for over a decade, with funding first promised by DfT in 2013 as part of its ‘Access for All’ scheme and planning approval eventually granted ten years later in 2023.

With planning permission obtained Network Rail told passengers that work to install two lifts and walkways to make the station in Aldermans Hill accessible would be completed by mid-2024. But then came news of delays and, now, the cancellation of the project entirely.

Asked to comment this week, Palmers Green councillor Doug Taylor told the Dispatch: “I am disappointed that the lift proposal for Palmers Green Station has been deferred.

“Better accessibility is very important for passengers with a variety of mobility issues. [Fellow ward councillor] Chris James, and myself, will be working to support our MP Bambos Charalambous who has a meeting scheduled with Lord Hendy to look at any logistical issues leading to the deferral, and potential solutions.”

Dave Cockle, a local rail expert and former chair of The Enfield Society, has told the Palmers Green Community website that existing slopes and ramps on either side of the station could be adapted to provide step-free access to the station without needing lifts, but it remains unclear whether this option has been explored by Network Rail.

Although Palmers Green Station is operated by rail firm Great Northern, part of the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise, major infrastructure works are led and delivered by Network Rail.

The DfT announcement this month further explained: “We inherited a significant backlog of AfA [Access for All] projects initiated under the previous government. While we remain committed to the delivery of the vast majority of these legacy AfA projects, ministers have taken difficult but necessary decisions in relation to […] five legacy projects.”

The other axed accessibility projects include Cricklewood Station in Barnet borough.

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