On Wednesday evening (September 10), Southwark Council’s Planning Committee approved the allocation of Section 106 funding worth £5,078,652.01 that has been gained from developments built in and around Old Kent Road.
Section 106 agreements are legal agreements made between local authorities and developers to fund improvements to local services when developments are approved.
The ‘Bakerloop’ route is a new BL1 express bus service that will connect stations and areas mirroring the proposed Bakerloo Tube line extension and will cover stops such as Old Kent Road and Burgess Park.
The service will run between Waterloo, Elephant and Castle and Lewisham and is part of Transport for London’s (TfL) Superloop network expansion.
Earlier this year, TfL consulted with local residents and stakeholders on the proposed new bus service and found a majority of the feedback was positive with the proposals widely supported.
The BL1 service will run every day of the week from 5am to 12.30am.
Five buses will run per hour from Monday to Saturday while four buses will every hour on Sundays.
TfL has said it aims to launch the new service this autumn.
According to a council report, the money raised from the Section 106 agreements represents approximately 14 per cent of the total cost of delivering the service over a seven-year period.
The report went on to state: “TfL will commit the balance of the funding required. The funding will be subject to a grant award with TfL. Should the service cease to operate, Southwark would be entitled to reclaim funds not spent.”
