What are we trying to do?
This is a community led initiative to make safe the Crystal Palace Subway and reopen it for public access. We are working with Bromley Council who are the land owners to reinstate partial access to the subway, initially we will be arranging access by appointment only but we hope to soon make it available for more regular access.
Part of the subway will remain closed due to safety concerns about the structural integrity of some of the retaining walls. Both Bromley and English Heritage are keen to also see this part reopened in future and we are working with them to see how this could be funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund or other funding sources.
Our proposal is modest, all we want to do is to reinstate access so that people can get in and experience the space. Once we have achieved this objective people can come forwards with suggestions for how they would like to use the space and hopefully as many of these ideas can be accommodated in due course.
Everything we do is being coordinated with the broader plans for regenerating the Crystal Palace Park. Our initiative aligns with the masterplan for the park as well as Bromley’s plans for how the park could be managed and funded in future.
Who are we?
The Friends of Crystal Palace Subway is a group of local residents and stakeholders who would like to see this wonderful space reopened so that it can be enjoyed by the public again.
We are volunteering our time alongside day jobs, so please be patient. Feel free to get in touch if you would like to help and if you have skills that you think we could benefit from.
Governance
Review a copy of the Constitution of the FRIENDS OF CRYSTAL PALACE SUBWAY here.
What have we done so far?
It started in the autumn of 2010 when two local residents, Karl H Richter and Rolf Peruzzo, began discussions with Bromley Council and other local stakeholders to explore how to reopen the subway.
The subway has always managed to inspire people and capture their imagination over the years, it wasn’t hard therefore to find an enthusiastic group of local residents who also wanted to help with this project. We have now formed a small steering group of volunteers and sponsors who are helping as best they can.
How can you help/get involved?
We would like you to start by sharing your stories of the subway, particularly if you have fond memories of using it before it was closed to the public. We would like to capture how the subway was previously used, how it inspired people and what it motivated them to do in the space. This will help inform us how to best use it to reflect its history and also the future potential it could have.
Please click the Contact button on the left to email us with your stories and links to you pictures of the subway so that we can add them to our library.
Please also tell us how you would like space to be used in future. We can’t promise that we will be able to do everything – certainly not in the short term – but we’ll try !
What happens next?
We have asked Bromley to support our initiative and we are waiting for them to approve our proposals. As soon as they do then we can start with obtaining the necessary planning and listed building consents to install lockable gates and safety railings so that we can provide safe access.
