UK: Government-owned property development and regeneration company London & Continental Railways and Network Rail’s property development team have been merged to create Platform4, which will seek to develop unused railway land and reinvest the profits generated in the railways.
Platform4 will initially operate as a subsidiary of Network Rail before it eventually passes to Great British Railways. The first Chair is L&CR Chair Rebecca Seeley.
Announcing Platform4 on July 30, the Department for Transport said L&CR and Network Rail’s property team previously operated independently to manage different aspects of surplus rail land, and this had led to inefficiencies and missed opportunities. Platform4 creates a unified structure which aims to deliver 40 000 homes over the coming decade by disposing of surplus land, attracting private investment and accelerating regeneration through partnerships with other public sector landowners.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said ‘our railways are more than just connections between places – they create economic opportunity and drive regeneration. It’s exciting to picture the thousands of families who will live in these future homes, the vibrant neighbourhoods springing up, and the new businesses that will launch thanks to these developments. Platform4 will breathe new life into these spaces, delivering tens of thousands of new homes.’
Commenting on the announcement, Rail Freight Group Director General Maggie Simpson cautioned that ‘it is essential that government plans do not inadvertently restrict the availability of sites for rail freight, or hamper the operation of existing locations through inappropriate adjacent development. This is particularly critical in urban environments where suitable sites are increasingly scarce, yet demand for construction aggregates is at its highest.’
