Network Rail Unveils Plans For London’s Biggest Last-Mile Hub
Network Rail has launched its masterplan process for Bow Goods Yard, east London, which will regenerate more than 30 acres of brownfield land.
The site is the final parcel to be unlocked as part of London’s 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy, Network Rail said. It was initially used as the main construction hub for the Olympics, and during the Games it was the location for the Olympic warm-up track.
Network Rail said that the development has the potential to deliver a sustainable transport network for east London "through rail-fed warehousing and an integrated last mile logistics hub".
In its initial submissions, Network Rail said that Bow Goods Yard had the potential to deliver a parkside neighbourhood of homes, leisure, industrial and open space, London's largest rail freight campus with integrated last-mile logistics hub, workspace and workshop accommodation, new landscaping and open spaces, connections with Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and infrastructure improvements.
Bow Goods Yard is home to heavy rail freight use and is the last remaining industrial site in the London Legacy Development Corporation area.
One of the largest railheads for the capital, it supplies over a million tonnes of concrete and aggregate to the construction industry.
The company said that it would also work with the neighbouring Pudding Mill, Fish Island and Strand East communities to connect the future scheme with Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the River Lea and Greenway.
Maccreanor Lavington Architects will work with Network Rail on the scheme, and Montagu Evans has been appointed as lead planning and development consultant ahead of a consultation and design period, with the target to submit planning in 2024.
“As the last part of the regeneration story for the Olympic Park, Bow Goods Yard is strategically connected by both road and rail," Network Rail Group Property Director Robin Dobson said. "The development has the potential to create London’s largest state-of-the-art freight and last mile logistics hub to serve Greater London, alongside homes, a workspace campus and open space.”
