Infrastructure development: all aboard?

Martha Grekos and Emma Cariaga examine the challenges and opportunities faced by those developing around London’s public transport hubs London is powering ahead, raising questions of where its housing demand should be met and how its residents can reach the concentration of jobs located predominantly in its centre. London has 8.6m inhabitants and has already exceeded the previous peak population of the inter-war years. Its population is forecast to reach 10m by 2030. London’s expansion requires investment and innovation in infrastructure. Planning for a population increase means looking at the land available for development, and at higher densities, and how the planning of new homes with transport capacity can be integrated. Proximity and availability of transport is key to making the city work. This creates an opportunity for a new wave of transport-oriented developments (“TODs”): places that take advantage of improved public transport accessibility with new development, creating great places for people. Today, the welcome investment in rail and station infrastructure is having a centralising and place-making effect, in addition to the decentralisation from new routes. What then are the challenges in developing around public transport hubs and what is the key to success in promoting such places? Challenges and opportunities Opportunity areas and funding Infrastructure investment is a key economic driver, providing a positive “multiplier effect” for the economy and helping to attract and retain wider private sector investment. The government estimates that £250bn is needed by 2015 to upgrade the UK’s infrastructure. However, with public spending under tight control, new sources of investment for infrastructure are needed. The CBI estimated in 2012 that more than two-thirds of the investment required will need to come from a diverse range of private investment sources. Investment in infrastructure is cash-hungry and payback or returns are often slow and difficult to realise unless matched by development at scale. The rigorous prioritisation of the mayor’s London opportunity areas (“OAs”) – the capital’s largest brownfield sites – to deliver 500,000 new jobs and 300,000 extra homes is therefore welcome. The private sector will need to play its part as delivery agent for such sites through mechanisms such as the community infrastructure levy (“CIL”), but input will still be required from central and local government. It is therefore heartening to see London First’s report (Opportunity Knocks: Piecing together London’s Opportunity Areas, July 2015) that boroughs should be required to introduce simpler planning rules across all OAs, including rules about when CIL, section 106 planning obligations and affordable housing requirements should be removed or reduced in early phases to assist with viability. Building on the London Infrastructure Plan 2050 and the work of the London Infrastructure Delivery Board, and using the proposed OA business plans, the Greater London Authority should ensure that credible infrastructure delivery plans are developed in OAs. In the upcoming spending review, the government should maintain London’s transport grant funding at least at current levels into the 2020s to deliver additional housing, jobs and economic growth in OAs. Additional resources, powers or other guarantees are required to enable London to fully meet its growth potential as well as reforms to utility regulation to enable more timely forward provision of electricity and water infrastructure. Partnerships As TODs and OAs are by their very nature large and require significant investment, different vehicles, such as joint ventures, are coming forward as a way to share the risks as well as profits, thereby helping to fully realise the growth potential in OAs. One such partnership development model is being realised by Transport for London, which collaborates with property developers to co-steward development in and around key transport nodes. An example is London Underground’s joint venture with Capital & Counties to redevelop Earls Court – a 69-acre project site for 6,700 homes in the Earl’s Court and West Kensington OA, a transport-dominated site with a mix of transport infrastructure. For any such vehicle to work, apart from the legal structuring, parties involved need to agree from the outset what their joint vision is and how it is to be implemented. Not in my back yard Issues such as increased residential densities or changes to neighbourhood character may provoke strong opposition to a proposed development. The “not in my backyard” reaction can prove problematic unless predicted and catered for with careful education and promotion and supported by genuine and extensive community consultation processes. An example of where this has worked is the redevelopment of Green Lane and Station Approach in Northwood. Transport for London involved the local community in an open conversation about Northwood’s future and moved forward collaboratively rather than impose plans on them. There is a powerful case for beginning with a vision shared by all stakeholders and agreement on common goals. Compulsory purchase/land acquisition Successful urban regeneration requires certainty regarding the provision and acquisition of land. Acquiring land is a challenge – whether by private agreement or through compulsory purchase. In addition, issues concerning public procurement are frequently encountered. Where the regeneration scheme involves land owned by the local authority, which will be sold off to the developer or another third party, issues relating to procurement are likely to arise that may pose considerable difficulties to local authorities and developers – and provide potential opportunities to commercial rivals or local residents to challenge the arrangements in court. Brownfield redevelopment TOD is based on urban infill principles, using brownfield sites to contribute enormously to the revitalisation of declining urban centres. Additional time and costs associated with the clearing and remediation of polluted sites, land acquisition and assembly of land packages is offset to varying degrees by the fact that much of the necessary infrastructure, including the transport corridor, is already in place. Connecting local objectives to strategic national objectives One of the keys to success in promoting TODs is connecting local objectives to strategic national objectives – such as the need to build more homes and the reduction of congestion, carbon emissions, social exclusion and crime. In addition, living near good public transport can reduce the proportion of household income spent on travel, which indirectly makes housing more affordable. Such housing is also a logical choice for people on low incomes, those who cannot drive or cannot afford a car, students, people with disabilities, the elderly, or families requiring social housing and support services. While it takes greater forethought, consultation and collaboration between the public and private sector to implement, it is feasible to integrate affordable, suitable and desirable housing for people in lower income groups in TODs without creating pockets of disadvantage. Place-making Equally, if growth is concentrated around transport hubs and these locations are the priority areas for transport investment decisions, new high streets will be created. These transport hubs will become the town centres of the future, given that they draw in huge numbers of people on a daily basis. Retailers require footfall and this footfall is created by people coming to use high streets as places of work, travel, leisure and residence. By addressing issues facing city centre working, learning and living, vitality can be breathed back into town and city centres through TODs. In addition, a well-conceived station concourse not only ensures that commercial enterprises prosper but, importantly, investment in place-making attracts people and encourages them to linger, leading to a sense of familiarity, safety and engagement, which in turn helps a community to grow. Stations are unique public buildings and are part of the shared daily experience. There is therefore renewed civic pride in these buildings. The revitalisation of St Pancras and development of King’s Cross encouraged major occupiers to relocate their businesses to what has become a new and vibrant place to work and live and which has in turn stimulated further investment in the local community. A catalyst for development Transport has always been a catalyst for development in Great Britain, from the time of the Roman roads to the emergence of London as a world port and the birth of the railroads. Transport provides accessibility to land, making the land valuable and encouraging economic activity. This is as true now as it was when the Underground was born in the 19th century and when commuter trains sparked the growth of Metroland in the early 1900s. Today, TODs have a vital role to play in delivering London’s new homes, jobs, and community opportunities in a responsible way. The challenges are many in delivering a successful TOD but the rewards for creating great places to live and work would appear to be commensurate. Examples of transport-oriented development in London Canada Water 46 acres, zone 2 Opportunity area British Land in partnership with Southwark Council Three sites to make up the masterplan: Printworks; Surrey Quays Leisure Park; Surrey Quays Shopping Centre Anchored by Tube and overground stations as bookends to a new high street Mix of uses using density to maximise location and opportunities for improvements in public realm Vision for a dynamic new part of London of up to 7m sq ft GIA . Earls Court 69 acres, zones 1 and 2 Opportunity area Straddles two London boroughs: Hammersmith & Fulham (“LBHF”) and Kensington & Chelsea Conditional land sale deal to enable LBHF and Capco to agree a phasing strategy to achieve vacant possession of the land and subsequent draw down Capco in partnership with London Underground and Earls Court Partnership, which will enable the development of Earls Court 1 & 2 in line with the Earls Court Masterplan Adjacent to desirable residential districts – Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham – plus existing transport links Vision for transforming area into four new urban villages and a high street, to include around 6,700 homes . Elephant & Castle 55 acres, zones 1 and 2 Opportunity area Lend Lease in partnership with Southwark Council Existing transport links and Transport for London also investing in improving the northern roundabout Vision to build nearly 3,000 homes, over 50 shops and restaurants and a new park . King’s Cross 67 acres, zone 1 Opportunity area Argent, London & Continental Railways and Excel (now DHL) formed a joint partnership: Kings Cross Central Limited Partnership. The partnership is the single land owner at King’s Cross Centred around King’s Cross Station New city quarter: 50 new buildings (shops, offices, cultural venues, bars and restaurants, schools, university), 2,000 new homes, historic buildings being restored . Paddington An area almost the size of Soho, creating about 10,000,000 sq ft of space planned on sites next to Paddington Station between 1998 and 2018 Opportunity area Paddington Partnership was set up to connect multiple landowners, development schemes, funding bodies and local communities to work with Westminster City Council Criss-crossed by every major transport initiative of the past two millennia – and all of them are still in existence. Starting with Roman Watling Street – still serving as the Edgware Road – the area made way for a stagecoach road to the City in the 17th century, a large canal basin in the 18th century, and the terminal and goods yard for Brunel’s Great Western Railway, along with the first of three underground lines, in the 19th century. The car was accommodated by means of the triple-level concrete Westway. Air travel represented by the Heathrow Express train. Still to come is Crossrail . Old Oak Common 155 hectares, bordered by Wormwood Scrubs to the south and Willesden Junction to the north. Semi-industrial, semi-derelict site that straddles three London boroughs: Ealing, Brent, and Hammersmith & Fulham Opportunity area Anchored by several Tube and overground stations Superhub for Crossrail and HS2 projects, with two new Overground stations also part of the plans Cargiant is the largest private land owner Creation of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation to take control of the site Draft Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area Planning Framework Vision for 24,000 homes plus shops and hotels . Martha Grekos is a partner and the London head of planning and infrastructure at Irwin Mitchell and Emma Cariaga is a project director at British Land