Celebrities are among thousands of angry residents and business owners campaigning against revised plans for a Crossrail 2 station in the heart of Chelsea.

Actress Felicity Kendal, patron of the No Crossrail in Chelsea Campaign , leads the 4,000-strong opposition over Transport for London's (TfL) latest public consultation on Crossrail 2 which was launched on Tuesday, October 27.

Campaigners have also accused Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council as continuing to "blindly support this scheme" which has been labelled as TfL's £1.2bn "vanity project."

After TfL abandoned plans at the last minute for a station on the site of Chelsea Fire Station, instead the most recent plans propose for it to be closer to Sloane Square on the corner of Sydney Street and King's Road.

Ms Kendal said: “Our campaign has demonstrated that there is huge local opposition to Crossrail in Chelsea.

"More than 4000 residents, small business owners, visitors, shoppers and celebrities have joined us.

"Why waste more than £1 billion when we are already in close proximity to both Sloane Square and South Kensington stations, and especially when the money could be better spent elsewhere, where it is really needed?”

Other celebrity backers include actors Trevor Eve and Cherie Lunghi, Oscar winning director Sir Alan Parker, cooking sauce magnate Loyd Grossman, celebrity lawyer Nancy Dell’Olio and mother of Cressida Bonas Lady Mary Gaye Curzon.

Following a bitter dispute with Crossrail planners over the summer, the campaign group, who have said they are not against the Crossrail 2 project, have argued the Victoria to Clapham Junction section of the railway should be direct and they do not need another station in Chelsea.

Chris Lenon, Chair of the No Crossrail in Chelsea campaign, added the plans have no transport case and no business case.

“The plans for a mega railway station on Sydney Street will still result in years worth of disruption, will still put up business rates forcing out independent businesses and will still put hundreds of listed buildings at risk" he said.

“We are incredibly disappointed that RBKC continue to blindly support this scheme.

“TFL and the council must listen to local people, cancel these plans and scrap their £1.2 billion vanity project.”

The switch to Sydney Street, from the previous preferred site at Chelsea Fire Station, follows earlier consultations with local residents and businesses.

TfL said it has listened to concerns and the new station proposals mean that Chelsea Fire Station will not be affected, and that it has no plans to build on or dig up Dovehouse Green.

Letters sent to the homes of residents

The council has sent nearly 40,000 letters to residents this week which contain arguments in favour of the scheme.

These include:

  • Up to 5,000 more people being within a 10 minute walk of a station
  • The new station will be in keeping with Chelsea's traditional scale
  • It will help deal with passenger numbers as well as increase footfall for businesses on King's Road
  • Higher rents are tied to the success of the high street
  • Better public transport is not a threat to independent shops but consumer habits are
  • Listed buildings are not believed to be at risk as a result of tunnelling
  • Better connections and less travel time into London Euston and Clapham Junction
  • Disruption is unlikely to be continuous for eight years.

Councillor Tim Coleridge, the Royal Borough’s cabinet member for transport, said: "The truth, as made plain in its leaflet, is that TfL also wants to preserve the character of the King’s Road.

“So today I am again urging residents not to listen to scare stories but to take part in TfL’s consultation and find out the facts for themselves.

“The council believes that in principle Crossrail 2 for Chelsea offers some tremendous benefits.

"Our focus therefore is on making sure that we can get the right station and the right plan for minimising the impact of construction."

What do they say Crossrail 2 will do for the area?

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: "Crossrail 2 will be a vital new transport link that will significantly improve capacity on the rail network into and out of London."

Michele Dix, TfL's managing director of Crossrail 2, said: "This consultation gives people the chance to comment on where we are proposing to put station entrances, work sites and ventilation shafts needed to run Crossrail 2.

"As development of this vital railway continues, we will be taking on board feedback from the consultation to progress the designs for the project, so that we can open the railway by 2030."

Chris Curtis, Network Rail's Head of Crossrail 2, said: "The launch of this consultation gives rail passengers the opportunity to have their say on what Crossrail 2 would mean for the proposed train services in north east London, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire, south west London, Surrey and Hampshire."

*TfL will be holding a Crossrail 2 roadshow event on Tuesday November 3 at Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, from midday to 8pm.

*The council will be holding a public meetings to discuss the plans on Tuesday November 3 at Chelsea Old Town Hall, King's Road, from 6.30pm.