Charities and community groups are being offered free rental of unused railway arches in a new offer from The Arch Co, the company that manages Network Rail’s railway arches.
Although there may be some retail arches available, most of the arches would be more useful for storage, light industrial or in some cases office overflow spaces. An example of use could be for a food bank to have deliveries sent to a railway arch as a local warehouse with the last-mile delivery to the final destination by cargo bike.
(c) The Arch Co
There are conditions as you would expect.
The rental is for up to 12 months and is only available to registered UK Charities, Community Interest Companies (CIC) or not-for-profit community groups.
The Arch Co’s letting team will select suitable arches that are expected to be available and discuss suitable locations for the organisation looking for the space. The tenant has to comply with existing planning permissions – so an arch authorised for light industrial probably can’t be used for an office, etc.
The charities will need to pay a deposit and the running costs of using the arch. The Arch Co will cover legal costs up to £1,000 for signing a tenancy, which they say will cover most situations unless a complicated lease is needed.
Considering the cost of renting space, especially in London, for an organisation in need of a large empty space to use for a year, getting a railway arch for free could be a good opportunity.
For more information and to enquire about spaces, send an email to charitylettings@thearchco.com
