Abandoned railway arches given new lease of life

Five abandoned railway arches on Camberwell Station Road are to be given a new lease of life, thanks to a £1.1m investment from The Arch Company.

Arches 344-348 have been vacant for over five years and were “unlettable” when The Arch Company first took them on.

However, having seen the demand for light industrial space in the area, The Arch Company’s is confident its retrofitting project will ensure these spaces reach their full potential.

Craig McWilliam, CEO at The Arch Company, said: “We look forward to creating five additional productive spaces in the heart of Camberwell, which will in turn support up to 25 new jobs for the area.

“Our Project 1000 investment plans are the biggest retrofit project in commercial property, with a thousand empty or derelict spaces such as this nationwide being brought into use by 2030.

“We will invest in further spaces in Camberwell under this development plan.”

The works taking place include fully

Helical named as preferred investment partner for Southwark station office scheme.

A preferred investment partner for the development of new offices at Southwark Station and other commercial offices above or close to Central London tube stations has been revealed.

Transport for London (TfL)’s wholly owned commercial property company, TTL Properties Ltd (TTLP) has selected Helical as its preferred investment partner for the office developments, after a competitive procurement process involving accomplished office developers and investors.

Our Project 1000 investment plans are the biggest retrofit project in commercial property, with a thousand empty or derelict spaces such as this nationwide being brought into use by 2030.

stripping out and relining each of the arches, replacing the concrete slabs, installing toilet facilities, restoring utilities such as water and electricity and improving the exterior with smarter shutters.

They are in line with Southwark Council’s plans to invest £1.5m into improving the public realm from later this year, which includes £1m from the GLA’s Good Growth Fund.

Further spaces on Camberwell Station Road – including the former station building – are also being considered for future retrofit plans.

Cllr James McAsh, Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency & Sustainable Development, said: “We very much welcome The Arch Company bringing these five empty arches back into use for small businesses to call home.

“Together with the £1.5m we secured to improve the public space, their investment and the local community’s input is helping us to completely transform the street.

“We look forward to seeing new businesses thrive and our residents enjoying the new, greener environment designed with walking and cycling in mind.”

All of the developments will be constructed on the basis of Net Zero Carbon and the joint venture will collaborate with tenants to target a rating of BREEAM Outstanding and Platinum WELL v2 Core.

Scott Anderson, Head of Property Development at TTL Properties Ltd, said the new joint venture complements its wider commercial development programme.

It will also help deliver operational benefits and generate vital additional revenue to be reinvested in a safe, green and reliable public transport network.

‘We’re delighted to have selected Helical as our preferred investment partner as we take forward our commercial office portfolio and create best-in-class commercial office workspaces that reflects our confidence in London and will positively impact the capital and its green recovery,” he said.

Matthew Bonning-Snook, Property Director at Helical, said the partnership with one of London’s largest landowners represented a hugely exciting opportunity to deliver three superbly located first-class office schemes.

She added more flexibility and devolution from the Government would help the council provide what residents ask for and “would allow us more certainty to plan ahead”.

But as it stands, she added, “it is a tough challenge with a loss in money in real terms, as what we receive is outstripped by inflation”.

The council previously set out what it planned to spend in its Council Delivery Plan – a clear set of objectives and promises to local people

She said: “Budget Settlement has only been given to councils for one year in recent times, but we cannot work hand-to-mouth and have to look to our goals for 2030, and our long-term capital investment plans, in order to manage public money wisely and look to the future.”

TTLP, advised by JLL and Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, assessed the potential partners’ sustainability strategies, partnering approach, and investment proposals for its development sites at Southwark, Bank and Paddington.

The partnership will see the delivery of new high-quality and sustainable office space above or close to the three Tube stations.

All three sites have full planning permission to deliver sustainable commercial office developments that provide exceptional workplaces and positively impact the local community.

Southwark Over-Station Developmentlocated above Southwark Tube station on the Jubilee line, is set to be one of the greenest and healthiest large-scale commercial buildings in the UK.

The 17-storey hybrid timber building will measure around 220,000 sq. ft and will provide a mixture of commercial office space and retail space and offer external terraces on most floors.

It is expected construction would start in 2025.

Southwark Council criticises ‘real terms loss’ in budget settlement.

A Southwark Councillor said it was “devastating” to be facing difficult choices about the services it is able to provide for local people, following its budget settlement from central Government.

A Southwark Council news report said the drop in the Revenue Support Grant (money that can be spent on any services, not specific ones) over the years, and inflation at a high of 10.5% means that the council has to operate on less money in real terms.

Cllr Stephanie Cryan, cabinet member for Communities, Equalities and Finance said its “depleted budget year on year” was eroding funds for services that people need and want.

Southwark Council received more from central government in its budget settlement than expected, but said it is “still not enough”.

It said the gap between what the council needs and what it receives will impact on investment promised to residents, such as street cleaning, leisure centres, libraries and parks.

It added much of the money is ring-fenced to statutory duties that the council has to provide.

The council news report said raising council tax and tenants’ rent may seem the answer, but so little of that benefits councils directly.

The council previously set out what it planned to spend in its Council Delivery Plan – a clear set of objectives and promises to local people.

The council now needs to see if its bold investments can remain viable “in a world where the money we receive from the Government does not match the costs of services that inflation affects, or even preausterity levels of funding”.