Alexander, who announced the government’s ambitions today (30 July), said that 15,000 homes would be delivered in the next five years, thanks to the merger of Network Rail’s property arm and London and Continental Railways (LCR), the regeneration offshoot of HS1.
Named Platform4, the new development body will earmark sites including goods yards, industrial land and stations to eventually deliver the 40,000 homes under the £1 billion plans, as part of the government’s 1.5 million new homes target.
The department said combining the functions, skills and capabilities of both Network Rail and LCR would help ‘remove inefficiencies, duplicated efforts, and missed opportunities for strategic development’, while generating an additional £227 million.
Network Rail and LCR have previously collaborated on several major regeneration projects, including at King’s Cross, Stratford International and Manchester’s Mayfield Depot.
The Department for Transport said 2,700 new homes would initially be delivered under Platform4 at the Studio Egret West-masterplanned Mayfield Depot, Newcastle’s Forth Yards development, previously masterplanned by FaulknerBrowns, and proposed brownfield developments in Cambridge and Nottingham.
In a statement, transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: ‘Our railways are more than just connections between places – they create economic opportunity and drive regeneration.
‘Platform4 will breathe new life into these spaces, delivering tens of thousands of new homes as part of our Plan for Change promise to build 1.5 million homes, while reviving communities around rail stations, supporting jobs and driving economic growth.’
Former Lendlease director for Europe, Bek Seeley, will chair Platform4, the government said. All income will be reinvested into the railways, the announcement added.
Land linked to transport infrastructure in the capital is already being earmarked for new housing.
Places for London, Transport for London’s property arm, is currently working towards a target of building 20,000 homes, half of which will be affordable, by 2031.
In March Allford Hall Monaghan Morris won planning for a student-led housing development to be built above TfL’s Southwark tube station, replacing its earlier office-led scheme for the site.