In 2008, a certain Ajit Chambers happened upon an old map which listed 26 abandoned tube stations in central London. It may sound like the start of an adventure caper on the big screen, but Mr Chambers was to instantly recognise the potential of his find. From scribing the foundations of his great scheme on the walls of his London flat, Ajit Chambers took this inauspicious seed and cultivated it into something with grand potential.
Instantly quitting his job, Chambers went to work drawing up plans to convert these lucrative spaces into venues and tourist attractions, with a projected £200m profit. Collaborating with the London Mayor at the time, Boris Johnson, and TfL, Ajit Chambers planned to eventually hand the reins of his brainchild over to the above after taking £7m from the projected £200m profit margin.
Boris Johnson, sated by the answers of Chambers after meeting with him, even spoke on BBC Parliament TV on the matter, saying “we will do it if it doesn’t cost a penny of public money.’’
Seeing as the investors found by Chambers bypassed this hurdle, it meant that the project had been verbally approved by the then London Mayor!
Chambers had sourced investors in advance which meant that there would be no cost involved for the state. Chambers received acknowledgment from Parliament for his work and met with the Prime Minister to discuss the venture. Chambers walked every step to ensure no stone was left unturned.
It all sounds amicable enough at that point, but if we leap forward 7 years to the present day, we have Mr Chambers taking Transport for London to court on 4 different charges, and the fallout from events that transpire in the courtroom could well have massive ramifications for the capital.
Ajit Chambers alleges that not only have TfL attempted to steal his intellectual property, but he has also been subjected to harassment by top level executives in TfL. In Chambers’ own words, he says this court case “will be the largest law suit in the history of Transport for London.”
