Disused railway arches in Bankside to be converted into community spaces

Three empty railway arches in Southwark are set to be converted into a sustainable transport hub and a community and cultural space.

The project aims to turn two arches in Ewer Street into a transport and management centre that will reduce carbon emissions in the area.

The hub will include secure cycle parking, lockers and showers, to encourage local employees to commute by bike.

It will also have a Green Logistics Centre, which aims to reduce polluting traffic.

Businesses will be able to order goods to the centre at non-peak times, which will then be redelivered by electric vehicles.

Another arch in Southwark Street is set to become a community and cultural space.

The arches are below a Victorian viaduct that cuts through Bankside, London Bridge and Bermondsey.

It contains nearly 400 arches and around a third of these are currently derelict or underused. 

Better Bankside, the area’s Business Improvement District, has taken the lease on the three arches as part of the ongoing Low Line project.

The project  aims to produce a series of affordable, flexible spaces in the heart of London.

The sheds are similar to those used to provide accommodation at the end of the First World War and are cost-efficient, recyclable and can be relocated.

Work on a fourth arch in St James’s Road in Bermondsey will follow later in the year. 

Bankside-based TDO have designed prefabricated steel sheds for the inside of the arches.

Donald Hyslop, Chair of Better Bankside and the Low Line Steering Group, said, “The need for flexible, functional and low-cost spaces has become ever more pressing, as the capital looks to recover.

“The framework we are developing in the Low Line encourages innovative design solutions and creative programming.

“By recognising and embracing the spaces we need now and in the future we hope to see a blend of enterprise, innovation hubs and social spaces.”

Tom Lewith, Founding Director of TDO, said, “The unique qualities of railway viaducts and the generous volumes of the arches underneath have fascinated us since the early days of TDO.

“In 2012, we purposefully sought out a vacant arch in Southwark for our studio.

“It is a privilege to be working with the Low Line partners on this exciting brief to bring arches along the Low Line to life, some of which are very close to our studio.”