Planning approval was given for two new lifts and walkways at Palmers Green Station last year but construction has yet to begin, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Palmers Green Station and (inset) Network Rail's accessibility plans — Palmers Green Station and (inset) Network Rail’s accessibility plans

Network Rail has apologised to residents for ongoing delays to make Palmers Green Station step free.

The accessibility project at the station has been in the works for a decade, with planning approval from Enfield Council finally being given in November 2023.

Last year, Network Rail told passengers that the work to install two lifts and walkways to make the station in Aldermans Hill accessible would be completed by mid-2024.

However, the rail infrastructure body has now said construction won’t commence until 2025.

Asked this week for an update, a spokesperson for Network Rail said: “We’re sorry for the ongoing delays in delivering accessibility upgrades at Palmers Green Station. We understand how frustrating this must be for passengers and the local community.

“We are committed to building new accessible facilities at Palmers Green to provide step-free access in the future.

“We have just commenced the next stage of design to finalise the scope and ensure the plans can be safely delivered. Following this phase we are targeting the start of construction work next year.”

The project forms part of the Department for Transport (DfT) programme ‘Access for All’, which allocates funding to improve access at rail stations for passengers with disabilities or restricted mobility.

Funding from DfT to make Palmers Green Station accessible was first awarded in 2013.

The scheme would provide 16-person lifts to each platform, linked to the station building by two raised, covered walkways featuring resting places to meet the needs of disabled and older people.

CCTV and lighting would also be installed “to minimise the potential for crime and anti-social behaviour and maximise the safety of all users”.

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.

Colin Younger, a member of various Palmers Green community groups, said he feared the project had “hit the buffers”. He speculated that a reason for the project’s delay could be that the Access for All programme was undergoing a “review”.

Minutes from a Network Rail board meeting in May this year appear to back this up. Chaired by Peter Hendy, now Minister of State for Rail at DfT, he said the programme had “significantly underperformed” during the most recent investment period.

The minutes said this “lack of traction” had now “created challenges”.

Setbacks have been a long-running issue, according to Colin. He said: “To give a perspective on this, as the then-chair of the Lakes [Estate] conservation group, I met with a representative from Govia Thameslink Railway in 2016 to discuss plans for step-free access.

“Apparently this was based on plans drawn up a few years earlier!”

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