A long row of derelict railway arches close to the Bermondsey beer mile could be brought back into use, if planning permission is granted. The Arch Co, the company that manages Network Rail’s railway arches is planning to spend £10 million bringing 29 currently empty and derelict railway arch spaces at Bermondsey Junction, close to South Bermondsey station back into use.
Some of the empty arches (c) Google Street View
The plans, which have been submitted to Southwark Council will see around 65,000 square feet of light industrial workspace brought back into use, and would be expected to support around 145 jobs in the area. That job creation estimate is based on other arch-based businesses employing, on average, at least five full time staff.
Three of the 29 arches will be reserved for use as affordable workspaces to support small businesses and start-ups.
The arches at Bermondsey Junction – those that face onto Corbett’s Lane, Corbett’s Passage and Silwood Street – have been vacant since June 2012. They had to be emptied during Network Rail’s Thameslink upgrade programme that simplified the railway routes operating in and out of London Bridge station and entailed a new piece of railway infrastructure at Bermondsey dive-under being built. With the completion of this project, Network Rail handed the site back to The Arch Company earlier this year.
If planning permission is granted by the council, it is expected that works will commence in 2023 with the units available later in the year.
There was a public consultation website with more information about the plans here, that ran prior to planning permission being submitted to the council.
Site plan (c) The Arch Co
Welcoming the proposals, Russell Dryden from the Blue Bermondsey Business Improvement District, said: “Bermondsey is home to a rich array of small businesses within and around the railway arches. The Arch Company’s plans to redevelop the vacant arches at Bermondsey Junction will help to restore life, light and use to these spaces, creating more prosperity for people in South Bermondsey.”
This development is part of The Arch Co’s Project 1000 plan to invest £200m to bring 1000 empty and derelict spaces across England and Wales into productive use by 2030.
