Railway stations are a crucial untapped resource for housebuilding and economic growth, according to a new report.
The Railway Industry Association (RIA), which represents suppliers to the sector, has called for a significant housebuilding drive within a 10-minute radius of railway station sites.
“The railway is the economic backbone of the United Kingdom… [our proposal] shows how an innovative collaboration between the public and private sector can build homes, create jobs, regenerate local economies and improve accessible transport.”
Russell Curtis, director of architect RCKa, has estimated that 1.2m new homes could be built within a 10-minute walk of 777 rural stations at the cost of 15,750 hectares of green belt – less than 1 per cent of the total.
The RIA has called for a model enabling the private and public sectors to “co-invest” in local improvements, such as integrated transport hubs and increased community amenities.
It pointed to the area around London’s King’s Cross and St Pancras stations as an example of the “remarkable transformative effect” of regeneration.
The report also called for stations to be grouped into portfolios, establishing economies of scale to attract private investment and reduce costs.
Its preliminary assessment found at least 100 stations which would “benefit immediately from such an approach”.
Stations are ‘vital’ to growth
Architects James Waddington, Nathaniel Welham and WSP’s Rail Belt project has identified more than 700 miles of uncovered, exposed railway track in London, arguing that around 10 per cent could be suitable for rail overbuild.
Network Rail has already pledged to set up a new government-owned development company, Platform4, that will become operational later this year, promising to build 40,000 homes on its rail estate over the next decade.
While are there are some issues with building near railways – like noise, disruption and distance to local amenities – architect Russel Curtis has called it an “obvious thing to promote”.
Jacqueline Starr, chief executive of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Railway stations are the economic anchors of our communities, sitting at the heart of towns and cities across Great Britain and contributing around £98bn each year to local economies.”
“As the industry moves towards Great British Railways, there’s an opportunity to reform the rail sector and ensure it works hand in hand with partners beyond the rail industry.”