Re-development to transform nationally important South Kensington Tube station gathers pace

Work to transform the nationally important South Kensington Tube station is gathering pace, following its inclusion in Transport for London’s (TfL) latest Business Plan.

The station improvement work will be delivered by TfL alongside a joint venture between Native Land and Places for London for the public transport-oriented development in the surrounding buildings. The redevelopment will see the station and the local area receive significant improvements, including providing step-free access to all platforms.

For tens of millions of customers every year, South Kensington Tube station is both a vital local transport connection and the gateway to London’s internationally renowned cultural quarter. Work is now underway to progress with works to create a station that the area can be proud of.

TfL, Native Land and Places for London will provide a new accessible station entrance on Thurloe Street, to enable much-needed step-free access to the ticket hall, platforms and the subway that links the station to nearby museums. This will greatly improve access for wheelchair users, customers with buggies and other passengers with mobility needs, who currently find navigating the station extremely difficult. TfL will also build a new dedicated eastbound platform for the Circle and District line, with lifts to these platforms and to the Piccadilly line.

This public transport-oriented redevelopment project led by Native Land and Places for London and designed by Stirling Prize-winning architect RSHP, received full planning permission in December 2023. The recent approval to progress work on the station improvements unlocks the many public benefits made possible by the approved design. These include preserving the historic arcade within the station and restoring it to its former glory, as well as providing new offices and 50 homes around the station, including on-site affordable housing.

The development will also see a carefully crafted four-storey building installed at the front of the station, referred to as ‘The Bullnose’ because of its unique shape, that will give the station a new prominence. The ground floor will offer retail and food and beverage opportunities, while new upper levels will offer high quality flexible office space.

Although they are run as separate projects, both projects will share a single programme to minimise disruption to the travelling public and to residents, necessitating close collaboration and coordination between the TfL and Native Land/Places for London joint venture.

Work on detailed design for the final station improvements will progress in the coming months, with enabling works for the around-station development starting later in 2026.

Bruno Carr, Head of Investment Planning at TfL, said: "It’s great that our plans to radically improve South Kensington Tube station have now reached the point where we have the necessary investment outlined to allow this scheme to now progress. This transformational scheme will deliver much-needed step-free access to this station, while also making the area around it more pleasant for the millions who visit the nearby attractions and museums every year."

Alasdair Nicholls, Chief Executive of Native Land, said: "The investment in South Kensington Tube station is a significant milestone in a project that will unlock huge benefits for Londoners and enhance our city’s reputation as a cultural destination on the world stage.

"Our joint venture team at Native Land and Places for London will work side-by-side with TfL to deliver a major regeneration of the buildings and public realm around the station. Crucially, we will ensure that step-free access is delivered as part of phase one of the works.

"Our scheme for a world-class transit-oriented redevelopment, designed by Stirling Prize-winning architect RSHP, is ready to go and we’re hugely excited to begin work with TfL colleagues to secure the many benefits it promises for South Kensington and for London."

Scott Anderson, Head of Property Development at Places for London, said: "The improvements planned by TfL, Places for London and Native Land at South Kensington will make the station a jewel of the Tube network. This hard-working station will become a place London can be proud of welcoming its many visitors to, as well as a vastly improved facility for locals and passengers in and around South Kensington.

"Places for London is delighted to be working in joint venture with Native Land, one of London’s leading developers, to deliver a new public transport -oriented, mixed-use development that will complement TfL’s upgrades at the station, with improved space for businesses and new homes, including on-site affordable housing."

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: "This upgrade to South Kensington Tube station and the surrounding area will benefit millions of local people, commuters and tourists visiting the nearby attractions, with the step-free access providing a smoother travel experience.

"The restoration of this historic design, as well as the addition of new affordable housing, office space and commercial opportunities, is exactly the kind of development we need as we continue to build a better London for everyone."

Joe Powell, MP for Kensington and Bayswater, said: "One of the first campaigns I launched as an MP was to modernise South Kensington station, so I’m delighted that TfL and the Mayor have decided to take the step-free project forward. This will make South Kensington - one of the world's great cultural and scientific districts, as well as home to hundreds of residents and businesses – accessible to the thousands more people from around the UK and across the globe who travel here for our world-class museums, universities and hospitals. This project could only happen thanks to this Government making serious capital investments in infrastructure."

Sir Ian Blatchford, Director and Chief Executive of the Science Museum Group, said: "Members of the Exhibition Road Cultural Group have been working closely with TfL and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea for a number of years to ensure that South Kensington station can deliver a visitor experience that matches that our world-famous district that includes concert halls, museums, specialist hospitals and one of the world’s greatest universities. Three million people with a disability use the station each year, a number which has been restricted due to the accessibility issues, which also impact on families using buggies.

"Our institutions have invested over £123 million in recent years, upgrading their medical equipment, improving access to their buildings and in transforming their galleries and exhibitions. This project to improve the Tube station is the final piece in ensuring South Kensington is accessible for all visitors. The cultural district collectively generates £2 billion a year for the economy, a figure which will grow as the capacity of the Tube station increases.

"This year marks the 175th anniversary of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the news around the upgrade of the station is a fitting to showcase of how the original ambitions for science, technology, innovation and access for all are still alive today with a continued commitment for delivering an appropriate welcome to the district."

For more information about the project, please visit www.tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/south-kensington

More information about the Around Station Development at South Kensington by Native Land and Places for London is available at https://www.southkensingtonstation.co.uk/