Underground ‘Ghost Station’ event spaces

Four
years ago city high-flyer, Ajit Chambers, stopped his bicycle and
stared into a small, dusty shop in an inconspicuous alley in central
London. It was a strange but magical moment, which would change his life
forever.

Following a fifteen year career in the banking world,
jetting between London and Switzerland, handling gargantuan supplier
deals and helping the CEOs and Chairmen of large City institutions to
increase productivity and profitability, Ajit was somehow drawn to this
Aladdin’s cave.

What had caught his eye was an old map, suspended
on cables from the back wall of the open fronted store. The map wasn’t
technically for sale but Ajit was curious nevertheless so jumped off his
bike and wandered in. On closer inspection, there wasn’t anything
particularly interesting about the map and he was about to head back out
onto the street when, for no specific reason, he urged himself to peer
around the back. What he found was, in his mind, a veritable treasure
map. It was, in fact, a haunting map depicting all twenty-six
underground ’ghost stations’ on the tube network. Some owned by the
Ministry of Defence, some owned by TFL, these deep, forgotten spaces are
relics of the past, frozen in time – a snapshot of the era in which the
iron doors were cranked shut and the padlocked chains were locked
together for, in some cases, over a hundred years.

Map of Underground in 1927 (left) Ajit Chambers (right)

Years
later, Chambers discovered that the little shop in the alley was
positioned immediately behind Transport for London’s Headquarters and
with the following inspirational allegory ringing in his ears -“Every
man has his opportunity but it’s only those who take that opportunity
who are truly successful”, he followed the yellow brick road.

After
his very successful 15-year career in banking Ajit Chambers was ready
for a new adventure – this chance discovery had ignited his passion and
stirred his imagination. There was no turning back and several tough
years of campaigning later, Ajit Chambers is realizing his dream.

Chambers
identified several abandoned Underground stations that could have
feasibly been appropriate and secured an audience with Mayor of London,
Boris Johnson in 2011. In this meeting, the pair together whittled the
choice down to twelve possible sites and Chambers has recently forged
financially viable deals on three of them.

Ajit and Bill Clinton (left) Ajit and Boris Johnson (right)

We’re
now almost three years of strategic planning down the (Piccadilly!)
line and, with the cooperation and assistance of the MOD, Chambers is
about to purchase the freehold of the first of the stations following a
£25m bid backed by his investor, an anonymous 27-year-old billionaire,
who jumped at the opportunity after reading a feature on Chambers in The
Times in April last year.

This is a serious project and Chambers
knows it. He’s assembled a crack team of world renowned professionals
including the founder of the visitor-experience led Vinopolis, Duncan
Vaughan-Arbuckle, Wing Commander Ian Shaw (ex- MOD/RAF) and John Ross,
former CEO of Schneider Electric. Chambers’ Special Advisors include
Clinton Leeks, Parliamentary advisor for the HS2 project and Janelle
Raeburn, previously a TFL Strategic Planner. His team of big-hitters is
currently putting together a commercial property deal for the management
of the first coveted site with Jones Lang LaSalle.

Brompton Road
Underground Station was opened at the turn of the last Century and was
sold to the MOD shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, for
£22,000. Adding to it’s rich and enigmatic heritage, Brompton Road was
used as the secret underground Command Centre for the anti-aircraft
division of the RAF. Accessed by tube (via a secret, un-scheduled stop,
of course) and frequented by Winston Churchill himself on more than one
occasion, the occupants of this deep nerve-center of espionage-fuelled
intelligence were responsible for protecting London from the German V1
and V2 flying bombs as well as wave after wave of enemy fighter raids.
Chambers even has possession of the original title deed signed by the
Secretary of State to confirm the purchase in 1940 and it is in this
guise that the abandoned station now stirs from it’s lengthy slumber.

Fast
forward to 2013, and we’re now dusting off the cobwebs and opening the
third chapter of the station’s distinguished history. Brompton Road is
about to be brought back to life. No longer will this mysterious place
be one of the twenty six old ghosts under the bustling streets of
London. Brompton Road is about to become the most exciting, intriguing
and ambitious restoration project in Europe. In fact, so encapsulating
is this story that the keynote speaker at the German Tourism Conference
in Dubai is using the Old London Underground Co. as a case study on the
world stage later this year.

One interesting attribute that all
tube stations share is an above-ground building which acts as the ticket
hall and entrance. This is still the case for all the ghost stations
too, but because they are integral to the station beneath and largely
owned by TFL and the MOD, they are rarely put to use these days. 
Rather, they lie unassuming and unnoticed, often in the most conspicuous
of places, yet they are surprisingly difficult to identify. Brompton
Road, however, is to this day operated by the RAF (housing a Cadet
Squadron) and is, as a result, preserved in excellent condition.

Ajit Chambers’ concept is very simple and is, as follows.

Brompton
Road Underground Station will be London’s Alcatraz. A fascinating,
eerie, stark, nostalgic relic of the past, steeped in (sometimes
macabre) history and capable of sparking the inner urban archaeologist
in us all.

The
ticket hall structure will be a mecca for events of all shapes and
sizes, the rooftop will be an enchanting garden, bar and restaurant on
the fashionable Brompton Road, whilst below ground will be a world class
tourist attraction with groups of fifteen ushered down the drop-shafts
round the clock for private tours of the mysterious, forgotten world
below.

Minimal cosmetic restoration will be carried out so as not
to compromise the authenticity and decaying charm of the former Command
Centre from a bygone era. Visitors will even see the Piccadilly line
trains racing through beyond the far platform, unbeknown to the millions
of commuters who pass by in the darkness, every week.

Now,
here’s the science bit. Chambers has a vision of world-class
‘imagineering’; One that Walt Disney would have undoubtedly been proud
of. Picture the scene. You’re in a spooky underground chamber (excuse
the pun!) and a phantom train glides into the platform. The doors slide
open and a hoard of ghostly RAF servicemen spill out, hurrying to their
stations. Here begins a sensational journey back in time, to an ethereal
ghost station filled with the heroic spirits of a distant age. This
hidden world will be created using the very latest projection and
hologram technology, the likes of which haven’t been seen in a city
center visitor attraction environment before. A strategic mix of
holograms and actors will combine to create a thriving underworld,
accurately telling the stories of what happened in this deep warren of
covert and secret tunnels. Corporate and consumer visitors will
experience a fully operational Command Centre complete with a seventy
year old underground railway, in full (holographic) use! Putting it
bluntly, this will be a truly world class ’edutainment’ focused visitor
attraction to rival any other authentic experience anywhere in the
world.

Indeed, when Chambers first ventured down there by
torchlight (the first person who had done so for decades), he discovered
a veritable Tutankhamen’s tomb of discarded treasures – huge industrial
fans, gas masks, gas-sealed doors, even a cinema for the troops
stationed there during the warÃ?¢€Ã?¦all of which you’ll soon be able to see
for yourself.

But with such a spectacular experience, comes an
equally spectacular price tag. Excellence doesn’t come cheap and the
sacrifice Chambers has made to date is significant (£260k of his own
money on meetings and site visits alone). His purchase price will be
around £25 million. His office is supported by Google and Acer and a
recent seven-hour recce confirms that his capital expenditure of circa
£2 million meets stringent health and safety regulations, with visitor
installations being several million more. Chambers is ready, willing
and, most importantly of all, able. He’s got interest from high places
too, with a string of celebrity supporters for his project from Rupert
Everett to Russell Brand.

Of course, corporate events are central
to Chambers’ ambitious plans. With one of the most enticing and
intriguing venue concepts ever attempted in London, corporations of all
shapes and sizes will be clamoring for the opportunity to stage an event
(or throw a party!) in such a unique and historic environment. In fact,
a huge international conglomerate has already offered Chambers a sum in
excess of £100,000 for the right to stage the first event at Brompton
Road next year and MSN have promised to publish a tribute to the project
on their homepage, worldwide, on launch day. Clearly, this sensational
project, born by a momentary bout of curiosity about what was on the
back of an old poster in a current-day Diagon Alley, has captured the
imagination on a global scale.

Most importantly of all, though,
is that this world-class venue will be accessible to all. Corporate
groups of all shapes, sizes and, to a certain extent, budgets, will have
the opportunity to host events here. With event spaces spanning the uber-cool rooftop bar and restaurant (which will become a highlight on
the Knightsbridge/South Kensington scene), the main event space housed
in the historic and architecturally important ’above-ground’ building
and, of course, the main attraction where groups of fifteen at a time
will venture down with their guide, to explore the secret underworld
beneath, Brompton Road Underground Station will be the hottest ticket in
town.

Essentially, Chambers is a living manifestation of David
Cameron’s desire to “Utilize private money to fund public assets, whilst
simultaneously creating the opportunity for a sustainable revenue
stream”.

Perhaps the most exciting revelation for our industry is
that the supplier relationships are all up for grabs and londonlaunch
is proud to be advising Chambers and his team on everything from
catering and entertainment to audio-visual and production. It’s so
refreshing to discover that such an incredibly exciting new project
offers a genuine opportunity for local London businesses. Even more
encouraging is that Chambers has a master-plan which will enable him to
fund a roll-out of his ingenious concept across eleven more stations. He
proposes to enable suppliers and partners to share in the profits by
becoming stakeholders in the Old London Underground Company project – a
sort of subterranean John Lewis, if you will. This would also enable
suppliers with hands-on experience of such an unusual venue to embark
upon each new venue opening with renewed efficiency and vigour.