Devolved bodies are also responding to the pressure, with Transport for London (TfL) planning to emulate the Metropolitan Railway in using land around its stations for homes. Before it became part of London Transport in 1933, Metropolitan Railway Country Estates Ltd had been closely involved with the development of 1,500 acres (and more loosely with another 1,500 acres). And rather than selling land, TfL has chosen 13 partners - including housebuilders Barratt, Berkeley, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow - with which to develop sites in joint ventures. Initially 75 sites covering 300 acres are being worked on, of which two-thirds are in Zones 1 and 2.
The first sites include a long-derelict depot site at Parsons Green, plans for 20 town houses on a strip of land close to fashionable Thurloe Square in South Kensington, and land around Southwark and Bermondsey stations that is earmarked for about 300 homes apiece, plus other locations under consideration at Harrow-on-the-Hill, Northwood and Kidbrooke.
At Bond Street flats are being built above the new Crossrail station. And even TfL’s Grade 1 listed headquarters building at St James’s Park (designed by Charles Holden) is being converted into 89 apartments. But by far the largest current development is Earl’s Court, where TfL owns the land around the exhibition centre. A partnership with Capco will entail 7,500 homes built on 77 acres.
The partnership approach has been welcomed by others. Peter Murray, chairman of New London Architecture, believes that “if TfL adopts a long-term view and does not sell off the family silver, it could be a boon for the whole of London, not just for transport”.
New sites are also being developed. In May TfL was given planning permission for a new development above and around Nine Elms station on the Northern Line extension. This development entails the delivery of 332 new homes. It will also provide 5,332m2 of new office space, 902m2 of retail and leisure space, as well as a new public square, pedestrian and cycle connections, cycle parking and disabled car parking spaces. It will improve local facilities and provide new revenue for TfL to reinvest.
TfL’s wider plan is to generate £3.4bn in non-fare revenue by 2023, to reinvest in the transport network through its property development framework. Thirteen appointed property development companies will bid for work on around 50 TfL sites across London for the delivery of thousands of homes, offices and retail spaces.
But how attractive are these schemes to developers? Peter Frost, managing director of Kilbride Holdings, is behind the development of 750 homes at Tavistock and the proposed reinstatement of passenger services between the Devon town and Plymouth. He believes there is a considerable appetite from developers for partnership schemes, and has found councils very supportive.
He explains: “We took the Tavistock scheme through the local plan ourselves, got it allocated with the support of town and county councils, secured land rights, and brought in Bovis Homes for the residential planning application while we carried on with helping the county council with the rail development plan.
“We did that because we thought Bovis would be quicker and get a better consent than we could. In retrospect we might have been better keeping control over the site for as long as we could. That way we would have had much more influence over the quality of the development and had control over the process. Long-term infrastructure projects take time, and the longer one can keep control the better. The more parties involved, the longer it takes. You need to get all rail agreements tied down and then get house builders in.
“It will be the level of detail that determines whether NR’s idea works or not. Sorting out the release of assets, the funding and the vehicle for doing it is just the start. Central government will need to give a clear steer with timetables, and local government will welcome the DfT’s expertise in resolving how stations fit into the planning system and the franchising process - who owns and controls the stations.
“We need a clear process and legal and financial structure for everyone to follow. The length of franchises needs taking into consideration, as developers need longer periods to realise the value of assets. A certain level of control has to be given up, otherwise it will be hard to achieve that £1.8bn.”
Perhaps the most promising area is train maintenance depots, although there is no possibility of quick wins. There is little justification for having such depots on urban land that could be redeveloped, apart from proximity to a workforce. Provided there are suitably located booking-on points and sufficient overnight stabling and cleaning facilities near stations where trains start their journey, the maintenance can be done on low-value land. Bombardier chose rural Barton-under-Needwood for its Central Rivers TMD to maintain Voyagers, rather than an urban site.
Moreover, as many trains are lengthened to address rising demand, or as new fleets are introduced, the current facilities are inadequate and will require significant investment to allow a whole train to be lifted, for example. Better to plan a bespoke depot on cheaper land and realise the value of the urban site.
One of the cornerstones behind the desire of regions for devolved powers is the opportunity to improve the use of stations for both passengers and the community as a whole.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is worried that “divestment of non-core assets could impact on plans for development and devolution”. It adds: “TfGM will be seeking assurances from NR that land and property sold will not impact on our ability to future-proof transport expansion or impact on the commercial viability of our devolution aspirations. This is particularly relevant for Rail Stations devolution where future income and development opportunities could be constrained.”
Bray believes there is “a strong case for expanding the role of devolved authorities, which are well placed to link opportunities for station development with wider objectives and funding streams. Some very high-quality work has been done in PTE areas with good attention to detail, such as the attractively designed Rochdale Interchange between Metrolink and local buses. PTEs recognise the importance of attractive transport hubs as part of what a town centre should be like. It’s important to get the balance between developing and safeguarding sites for rail use.”
