The CLASP (Consortium of Local Authorities Special Programme) system was a scheme developed in the 1950s by English local authorities to devise a method of designing and assembling prefabricated buildings for use in the public sector. The former Southern Region of British Rail, the state-owned railway operator, adopted the system in the 1960s and 1970s and used it for signalboxes and station buildings. The Western Region also rebuilt some stations using the same methods.
History After the Second World War, many stations and signalboxes on the Southern Region's large and busy network required renewal or replacement, but funds were limited: several electrification schemes had to be paid for, new trains were required and other modernisation work was taking place. By the 1960s, the need for immediate action became so great that the Region's management had to abandon traditional individual rebuilding projects in favour of a mass-produced solution using factory-made parts.
The CLASP method, used since the 1950s by local authorities for schools and other public buildings, was chosen. The prefabricated buildings were made of steel and concrete, and had several distinctive characteristics: a steel-framed, flat-roofed "box", usually one storey high (although some two-storey versions were produced), with a large water tank mounted on the roof. Windows were small and placed high on the building, immediately below the roof. Evenly spaced wooden or metal pillars held up canopies which were usually wood-panelled underneath. Pre-formed panels of aggregate-coated concrete formed the outer walls.
The first CLASP signalboxes were built in 1964; in 1965, the scope was widened to include stations. The structures were cheaply built and quickly decayed; several were soon replaced by new buildings. The Southern Region abandoned the scheme in 1973, although the Western Region adopted it at three locations between 1971 and 1977.
List of stations rebuilt using CLASP methods StationImage Region YearNotesRefsSunburySouthern Region1965FleetSouthern Region1966Rebuilt 2013–2014CrawleySouthern Region1967Incorporated an office development aboveAlfretonLondon Midland Region1967AshteadSouthern Region1968Rebuilt 2013AyleshamSouthern Region1968Belmont–Southern Region1968Now demolishedBelvedere–Southern Region1968Rebuilt in 2000CharltonSouthern Region1968Crayford–Southern Region1968Destroyed by fire in 2000; replaced by new building in 2001New Eltham–Southern Region1968Since rebuiltSlade GreenSouthern Region1968BerrylandsSouthern Region1969Hampton WickSouthern Region1969CatfordSouthern Region1970Poole–Southern Region1970Since rebuiltOxford–Western Region1971Up side rebuilt 1990; down side scheduled for replacementLongfieldSouthern Region1971MeophamSouthern Region1971Bristol Parkway–Western Region1972Opened 1 May 1972 with temporary CLASP buildings; rebuilt in 2001Kidbrooke–Southern Region1972Since rebuiltRainham (Kent)–Southern Region1972Demolished in 1989; rebuilt in 1990East GrinsteadSouthern Region1973New station built 2012; demolished in 2013HassocksSouthern Region1973Rebuilt 2012–2013SunningdaleSouthern Region1973Virginia WaterSouthern Region1973WokinghamSouthern Region1973Rebuilt 2013West NorwoodSouthern Region1975GloucesterWestern Region1977Incorporated an office development aboveLower Sydenham–Southern RegionSince rebuiltStroodSouthern RegionRebuilt 2017Forest HillSouthern RegionBrockleySouthern RegionAn unusual two-storey CLASP structureWoolSouthern Region
SCOLA The SCOLA (Second Consortium of Local Authorities) scheme, similar to CLASP, was also developed for use by schools. Its buildings made use of brick and timber instead of concrete. British Rail used it twice on the Southern Region, when Newington and Teynham stations were rebuilt in the late 1970s to suit one-man operation.
Post-1970s developments From 1980 and throughout the next ten years and into the 1990s, British Rail adopted a new system of brick buildings with apex roofs, smaller examples resembling a 'chalet'. These include Headcorn, Staplehurst and Marden.Kent Rail https://kentrail.org.uk/staplehurst_2.htm
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