The government are set to build 40,000 new homes on surplus railway land, an idea that has been welcomed by industry experts.
Announced just yesterday (July 30th), Transport Secretary Hedi Alexander revealed brownfield railway land in Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Cambridge will be transformed into neighbourhoods, complete with 40,000 new homes.
Currently, it is understood that 15,000 of the new homes will be built by 2030 as four sites have already been earmarked for development.
The project, which is estimated to cost around £1bn, is due to be led by a new company called Platform4. The organisation is formed by a merger of London and Continental Railways Limited and Network Rail’s property development team.
Bek Seeley, previous leader of European development business for the multinational construction company Lendlease, has been named as chair.
Commenting on her new appointment, Bek said: ‘Platform4 will deliver on key government priorities, creating new homes and jobs and stimulating economic growth. Working alongside our partners and local authorities, we will create sustainable places that bring communities and customers together and leave a positive legacy for future generations.’
On the topic of positivity, Richard Beresford, chief executive of the National Federation of Builders (NFB), said the plans have ‘set a new standard in placemaking and doing so on brownfield land around railways stations really is the twin-twin they are selling it as.’
However, Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and planning at the NFB, has expressed some concerns about the new scheme. He added: ‘Viability and ambition will be key to these projects succeeding. Some sites already have planning permission dating back decades and so Platform4 needs to reassess whether they need updating to deliver more for today’s communities.
‘We would urge the government to explore community density, where projects are large in scale because they deliver all a community wants and needs.’
According to the government’s timescale, the project is expected to take around a decade to fully complete.
Photo by Jake Weirick via UnSplash
In related news:
Leave a Reply