Stratford finally has the Treasury’s attention. The task now is to turn a Budget commitment into a funded scheme.
Today’s Budget made three promises for Stratford. The government will address capacity constraints at the station. It will support development around it through a business rates retention zone (subject to a business case). And it will work with the Mayor “to aim to enable international rail services to stop at Stratford International station”.
The Greater London Authority is also in the first wave of mayoral retention zones with Stratford named as one of the projects they will support.
This matters. Stratford has rarely featured in debates about London’s great stations. Earlier this year I carried out an independent peer review of the early business case for the station. Some general lessons from that work now look more pressing.
A national asset on a local footprint
Stratford handles more than 100 million passenger movements a year but its concourse is just 1,900 square metres. Until today, it had no pathway to a committed upgrade.
Its growth is the result of two decades of regeneration, from the Jubilee Line Extension to the Olympic Park. Much of East London’s future housing and jobs growth now depends on it.
Visibility has been the problem. Many services share one gateline so passenger numbers are split across different reporting regimes. Stratford ranks well below where its true footfall would place it. The Budget suggests that is now changing and that is welcome.
Two stations, one system
Stratford International is a short walk away. It is served by the DLR and high speed domestic trains. But its international platforms have never been used as intended.
International services would give East London a direct gateway to Europe. They would also strengthen the case for investment in the wider area.
They change the capacity question too. The two stations could be planned as one interchange. That means looking at how people move between them, and how services, fares and wayfinding work across both. Solve one station’s problem in isolation and you risk moving it to the other.
What the business case needs next
The commitment depends on a business case, so the next phase counts. The best cases pair a disciplined business case with work to build profile and support. They develop the station and the regeneration case together, so the value the station unlocks shows up in the funding approaches. They agree the evidence standard with funders early. They make the case for the communities who rely on the station most. And they treat phasing as a real choice.
The Green Book shift
The Budget also tilts appraisal in Stratford’s favour. A revised Green Book cuts the discount rate from 3.5% to 3.0%. The aim is to “place greater value on the long-term benefits of investment”. There is also new guidance on place-based and proportionate business cases.
A lower discount rate helps long-life assets most. Station structures last more than a century. Benefits in the 2040s and 2050s now count for more.
That strengthens the case for building once and building right. Waterloo, Victoria and London Bridge all needed costly rebuilds after growing piecemeal. Promoters need to reframe their cases around the new guidance now so not to retrofit them later.
The window is open
Split ownership, the arrival of Great British Railways, the new London Plan and now a Budget commitment have all opened a rare window. Schemes that win funding will combine a rigorous business case with a story decision makers already know. Stratford now has the start of that story.
