Network Rail Property has been given the green light to deliver a rail freight campus and last mile logistics hub in East London.
An outline masterplan to regenerate the more than 30 acres of brownfield land at Bow Goods Yard received unanimous approval by the London Legacy Development Corporation.
Bow Goods Yard is the final parcel of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy land to be unlocked and is Network Rail Property’s first independent planning submission.
Up to three million sq ft of floorspace will be created, including heavy and light industrial space, under the industrial-led masterplan.
The development is being billed as a new centralised hub for Network Rail, accelerating London’s green transition
The masterplan aims to cut congestion and emissions by taking up to 90,000 HGV movements a year away from the national road network.
A range of leisure uses have also been proposed, including:
- 350,000 sq ft destination leisure
- 35,000 sq ft food and beverage
- 55,000 sq ft of sports pitches
Bow Goods Yard supplies more than a million tonnes of aggregates annually, with Rail freight contribution £2.5 billion to the UK economy.
The development improves rail freight capacity and efficiency as well as creating up to 5,000 new jobs.
A new 200,000 sq ft public open space will also be created, including:
- New public realm to improve the Greenway
- New pedestrian and cycle routes
- Introduction of 150 trees, green walls and green roofs.
Robin Dobson, Group Property Director at Network Rail, said: “Transforming this strategically underutilised freight site into the largest industrial and logistics campus that serves the whole of East London is central to expanding rail freight capacity and supporting the capital’s logistics market.”
Blazej Czuba, urban studio lead at developer Maccreanor Lavington, said: “It has been an incredible journey for us developing a project that secures the industrial capacity of the site while positively responding to its unique context in the middle of the Olympic regeneration area.
“The result is a masterplan showing that heavy industry can successfully coexist with other functions in a city, and that many industrial uses can be integrated into the street fabric, instead of being relegated to an out-of-town industrial estate.”
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