Disused railway arches in Camberwell to be restored

A cluster of disused railway arches close to Camberwell town centre is to be restored and rented out, the Arch Company has announced.

The current state of the arches (c) The Arch Company

The £1.1 million clean-up is part of The Arch Company’s plan to bring 1,000 spaces such as this into use by 2030. The development works will be supported by Southwark Council, who will similarly be investing £1.5m into improving the public realm from later this year. This includes £1m from the GLA’s Good Growth Fund.

Arches 344-348, which are on the corner of Camberwell Station Road and Camberwell New Road have been vacant for over five years and are currently unlettable. The works The Arch Company is undertaking include fully stripping out and relining each of the arches, replacing the concrete slabs, installing toilet facilities, restoring utilities such as water and electricity and replacing the exterior with smarter shutters.

The public space will undergo major improvements, including better lighting, more trees and street furniture, and widening the street.

Concept of restored arches (c) The Arch Company

Works on site are underway for the development of the arches, with The Arch Company anticipating that completion will be later this spring.

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

Of the 5,200 rental spaces The Arch Company purchased from Network Rail in 2019, 1,400 were vacant. Hundreds of these empty spaces are derelict and require significant investment before they can be occupied. A survey of Arch Company customers found that an average of five people are employed in each railway arch business.