Mayor of London gives green light for Shoreditch regeneration project

The Mayor of London has approved new plans to transform the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site in East London into a new mixed-use urban quarter.

Yesterday the Mayor gave the green light for the regeneration of the 10-acre site in the heart of Shoreditch.

Led by a joint venture between Hammerson and Ballymore, the project will provide 500 new homes as well as 1.4 million sq ft of workspace and one of the largest new parks in the capital.

Designed by landscape architects Spacehub, the site will have over six acres of public realm - 25 per cent larger than proposed in the original plans, first submitted in 2014.

The development will also include two new flexible culture and arts buildings - one in Hackney and one in Tower Hamlets - with a destination cultural building on Brick Lane and a new exhibition space located within the arches on London Road.

The mixed-use development will also provide new pedestrianised streets through the site, with a new east-west street created and the historic London Road under the arches restored and opened-up for the first time in decades.

Robin Dobson, director of UK development & project management at Hammerson, commented: “The Mayor’s decision is a huge vote of confidence in central London after a challenging year. Our designs make the very most of a highly constrained site and will provide a huge range of benefits.

“These include one of the largest ever provisions of affordable workspace in London, which will help the local area and London as a whole continue to thrive long into the future.

“We listened carefully to feedback on our original proposal and after extensive consultation with Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils, local people and businesses and the Greater London Authority, our proposal now provides for a balanced, mixed-use scheme that will create a new community in the heart of Shoreditch.”

Sean Mulryan, chairman and group chief executive of Ballymore, added: “The Goodsyard site will be the jewel in the crown of Shoreditch. We bought this site almost 20 years ago when this area was a very different place.

“As the last opportunity for significant growth in Shoreditch, the time has come for what will be a great boost to the local area and London. The Goodsyard will be an exemplary neighbourhood, fit for a revived London.

“With a mix of new homes, sitting alongside workspace, shops, cafes and restaurants, cultural buildings, new streets and one of central London’s largest new parks, this will be a place designed with wellbeing in mind, where people want to live, work, and enjoy themselves.”