A plan has been submitted to regenerate 30 acres of brownfield land at Bow Goods Yard, East London. The scheme will deliver London’s largest integrated rail freight logistics hub. The site will handle construction sector traffic and will emphasise rail-enabled last-mile warehousing. The warehouse element suggests the infrastructure agency intends to promote the terminal to express logistics operators.

The British infrastructure agency Network Rail say that Bow Goods Yard in Stratford, in east London, will be a future model for rail freight site regeneration. The master plan is Network Rail Property’s first independent planning submission. Bow Goods Yard is the final parcel of land to be unlocked as part of London’s 2012 Olympic and Paralympic legacy.

Extensive community consultation

“Bow Goods Yard is one of London’s primary railheads”, said Network Rail. “Protected for rail-freight use, the site is vital to the capital’s construction sector, currently supplying over a million tonnes of concrete a year. It allows the sustainable movement of construction materials to and from the site, alongside transporting concrete and aggregate by rail to build schools, hospitals and housing in London.”

Network Rail’s creation of a master plan for the project follows extensive community consultation. From that exercise, the infrastructure agency has created a Community Brief, which sets principles for the site informed by residents, key stakeholders, and neighbouring businesses.

Bow is central to freight expansion

The Community Brief takes a refreshingly holistic approach to rail freight operations. The Brief integrates proposals proposals to make industry a better neighbour. Network Rail say they also want to improve connections and routes through the extensive site. They also aim to create a green, wild and useable landscape. More tangibly, the plan says it will deliver jobs and skills training.

“Proposals also include the introduction of an integrated last mile logistics hub”, says Network Rail. “The industrial-led masterplan will enable Bow Goods Yard to help London transition to a greener freight future by taking up to 90,000 HGV movements a year from London’s roads, reducing congestion and emissions. The UK Government has set a target of a 75% growth in rail freight by 2050, which will see many businesses making the switch to rail, with freight hubs such as Bow Goods Yard central to this expansion.”

Many jobs for the neighbourhood

The new scheme maximises the railhead’s capacity. In the plan, Network Rail says it will improve rail freight efficiency through consolidating operations and measures such as enclosures and screens for construction-related activities such as the concrete-batching facility and rail sidings. Additionally, a range of leisure uses are proposed to increase activity around Bow Goods Yard and complement existing facilities in the Olympic Park.

It’s unlikely that Bow Goods Yard will become a tourist destination, but for the Londoners who live there now and will in future, Network Rail say their green open spaces around the site will enhance the emerging neighbourhood. Perhaps most prescient, though, is the prediction that up to 5,000 new jobs will be created. The site currently supports around 100 jobs today. The scheme has been worked up by Network Rail Property and the lead agency,  Maccreanor Lavington Architects and Urbanists. they say that they will continue to work closely with the community to deliver the vision for the site.