Georgian buildings in Dalston could be demolished under plans to build Crossrail 2.

Hackney Gazette: This row of terraces in Hackney is under threat by Crossrail (photo: Arnaud Stephenson)This row of terraces in Hackney is under threat by Crossrail (photo: Arnaud Stephenson) (Image: Archant)

The row of houses at the corner of Kingsland Road with Dalston Lane could be under threat should the rail line go ahead in 2020.

The listed Bliss beauty salon opposite, the Leyland industrial building and car park in Bentley Road, and several buildings nearer to Ridley Road market including the Italianate Natwest building have also been earmarked as being “of surface interest” in the by the £20billion plans which could connect Hackney to central London in nine minutes.

This means they could be knocked down to make way for stations, ventilation and emergency access shafts, tunnel portals (where trains reach the surface), maintenance depots, for temporary construction purposes, or where tunnels will be shallow and buildings may need to be protected against ground movement during construction.

TfL and Nework Rail are currently consulting on safeguarding buildings they might need to build the route which would link Wimbledon and New Southgate with Tottenham Hale via central London.

Once safeguarded, the Government can issue directions to local planning authorities to protect land needed for long term infrastructure projects from developments that would prevent them being built or make them more expensive.

Founder of conservation campaign group OPEN Dalston, Bill Parry-Davies, who is currently fighting in the High Court to save a row of Georgian houses nearby in Dalston Lane from demolition by Hackney Council, believes it would be “part of the decimation of the character of the area” should any other Georgian buildings get knocked down.

“Dalston is being changed into this really bland transport hub,” he said.

“The trouble is it’s going to blight the area, because nobody knows whether to invest in their property and bring them up to standard because no one knows if it will be compulsorily purchased.”

Following a consultation last year, TfL has still not announced whether it plans to implement the original 2013 plans for Crossrail 2 route and build two stations in the borough in Dalston and Hackney Central, or whether it might opt for one or the other to save up to £1bn.

Michèle Dix, TfL’s managing director of planning, said: “A route for a new railway line through Dalston has been safeguarded since 1991 in the form of the Chelsea Hackney Line.

“This safeguarding has included the row of properties on Kingsland Road, adjacent to Dalston Junction station to provide an interchange with London Overground services.

“The proposals for Crossrail 2 follow essentially the same route in this area therefore the same row of properties will remain safeguarded.

“We try to ensure that disruption to existing businesses and residents is kept to a minimum with areas of existing safeguarding maintained wherever possible.”

Any residential or small business landowner who experiences difficulty selling a property due to the Safeguarding Directions, may be able to make a claim for statutory blight, meaning TfL would purchase the property at the current market value.

The consultation ends on January 29.