In 2023 Chessington District Residents' Association ran a petition to extend the 281 bus route to include the Cox Lane Business Park. Sadly, Transport for London (TfL) did not listen. The route was extended but only a few hundred metres across the Tolworth roundabout to the new bus rest at Tolworth station.

TfL carried out an online "consultation" proposing the extension of the 281 route to Tolworth station and delivered letters to local residents.

However, TfL’s consultation letter only included the residents of Drayton Court, Dean Court and the area in the immediate vicinity of Tolworth station. TfL did not feel it should include the businesses on the neighbouring thriving Cox Lane Business Park.

More recently, we have seen Citizen Zoo start to transform the waste land of Tolworth Court Farm Fields into an impressive nature reserve and wetlands, something as a community we can be truly proud of.

The nature reserve does not have any parking. Having an additional bus route run along Jubilee Way, so visitors can visit the site, would be great. The bus could turnaround in Davis Road, Chessington, as it did in the 1970s, and return to the new bus rest at Tolworth station. This would extend the route by just 1.5 miles.

Cox Lane Business Park is a thriving and developing facility contributing to the local economy and providing employment for hundreds of people in the borough and beyond.

Signs across the site visibly demonstrate the new investment in the business park with the upgrading or replacing of older premises. It is attracting a wide and diverse range of companies. Along with the impressive Lidl's UK headquarters at the start of Jubilee Way (where the 281 could stop outside) the business park has a major data centre, a major pharmaceutical company and a major fish supplier to our supermarkets. There are also hundreds of SMEs involved in a wide range of activities including research, technical innovation, manufacture of quality goods and products that are needed for today’s society.

These businesses all employ people and the 281 would widen the businesses catchment area for staff. People from as far as Hounslow, Twickenham and the major towns inbetween could work at this great complex and travel by bus.

Some of the businesses run evening and night shifts, the 281 bus runs through the night. The walk from Tolworth to the business park is through a remote area that can make some people feel unsafe, especially at night or during times of low light levels e.g. during the winter months.

Extending the 281 encompasses everything the Mayor of London extols e.g. getting people out of their cars and onto public transport, encouraging people to walk, enjoy the fresh air and visit Tolworth Court Farm Fields nature reserve. Extending the route would also contribute to the mayor’s safer street campaign clearly demonstrating that he and TfL are communicating and consulting with communities and giving residents the bus routes we need, rather that bus routes they think we should have.

We kindly ask that if you agree with the above you add your support to our petition.

Thank you for your time.

Chessington District Residents' Association

chessingtondra.org.uk