Planning application submitted to LB Southwark which sees £10m invested to bring 29 empty railway arches into active employment and industrial uses, supporting 145 additional jobs to the local area.

The Arch Company is the UK’s largest small business landlord with a portfolio of approximately 5,200 railway arches, former station buildings and other properties. In Project 1000 they are investing £200m to bring 1,000 derelict spaces into use by 2030, and support SMEs that have been squeezed out from fringe locations combining with relevant policy seeking to deliver new business units in ranging sizes.

Bermondsey Junction is 0.79 ha of large urban, open land and 93 arches totalling c.150,000 sq ft of internal floorspace. Spanning the boroughs of Southwark and Lewisham, the arches and associated land have been vacant for over 10 years and utilised for major infrastructure works associated with the Thameslink project.

The site will be brought back into active use through the phased delivery of the masterplan. As a first phase, a major planning application was submitted to LB Southwark which invests £10m to bring 29 empty arches (c.65,000 sq ft) into active employment and industrial uses. Focussed on SME needs, the proposals will come forward flexibly with light industrial, storage and business space (E(g)(iii)/B2 & B8).

The project will be delivered in a low carbon manner, due to only the refurbishment and repurposing of existing structures being required. The units are perfectly suited for SME industrial businesses and will help diversify local I&L stock predominantly in larger business parks.

Given the competing demands for I&L and residential, the site supports the wider vision for Old Kent Road. South Bermondsey is identified in the council’s draft Area Action Plan for intensified industrial uses to allow other industrial sites to be released for housing delivery.

The proposals will deliver affordable workspace, bring active uses back to the area, create a safer and more attractive location, highlighting how competing uses for land can co-exist to meet demand for both.

“Project 1000 is an exciting and ambitious £200m development plan that demonstrates our commitment to creating thriving environments for a diverse mix of small businesses and their communities. Our long-term investment will create new spaces for 1,000 businesses and support approximately 5,000 jobs by the end of the decade.”
James Seabrooke, Development Director, The Arch Company.