Will Network Rail become one of the UK’s largest house-builders?

Bow Goods Yard in London was the first planning submission for which Network Rail, which owns the land, was the main applicant

A recent interview, published last week in Building Design (BD) with Network Rail, outlines why the country’s biggest owner of brownfield land is taking a more assertive role in redevelopment projects on its sites.

Network Rail group property director Robin Dobson spoke to BD about its new plans. In 2023, Network Rail (NR) announced a strategic collaboration with then TTL Properties, now Places for London, which is Transport for London’s (TfL’s) wholly owned commercial property company, aimed at accelerating the delivery of regeneration and development activity across London.

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Join speakers from Network Rail and Places for London to hear about these developments and more at Rail Stations and Property 2025, March 11, London

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Says BD: "It was in May last year that the first signs emerged of what could be one of this decade’s biggest housing stories. A planning application was submitted for the Bow Goods Yard scheme in Stratford, north-east London. It went largely unnoticed by the housing sector because the scheme, a huge freight logistics hub, contained no housing.

"Approved last October, it is set to see up to three million square feet of industrial and leisure space built on the last plot of land to be released as part of the 2012 Olympics legacy, all of which is interesting enough in its own right. But it was a little noticed detail in the application that could prove to be the most significant for the housing sector in the years ahead. 

"Bow Goods Yard was the first planning submission for which Network Rail, which owns the land, was the main applicant. Previously, when the transport operator wanted to develop land in its ownership, it had either sold it to an investor or appointed a development partner to lead the scheme."

Network Rail and Transport for London join forces on development

Network Rail's strategic collaboration with Places for London was the first of its kind between the organisations and was a major step forward in the delivery of new homes, workspace and neighbourhoods for London’s communities.

The two organisations are aiming to use their estates to deliver more than 20,000 new homes, including a significant proportion of affordable housing, over the next decade. This will be supported by this new strategic collaboration, with dozens of sites being considered within the partnership across London and the wider south-east region.

NR and TfL are among the largest landowners in Greater London with more than 600 stations between them in addition to extensive retail, office and operational portfolios. Collectively, NR and TfL own almost 14,000 acres of land across the capital. While a significant proportion of this is operational, there are also brownfield opportunities across London boroughs and surrounding counties that both NR and TfL want to unlock to make a stronger contribution to providing new housing as well as supporting the wider economic growth of the capital.

Commenting on the announcement, Robin Dobson, Group Property Director at Network Rail, said: “This is a landmark moment for the capital, to see our two organisations build a partnership together. Jointly working with local authorities, this will benefit London’s communities, and businesses to drive economic growth. We look forward to working closely with key stakeholders to accelerate development delivery which over the coming decade will provide a positive impact for the region.” 

Urbanists Maccreanor Lavington are helping to deliver the NR Bow Goods Yard masterplan and say: "Bow Goods Yard is the missing piece of the Olympic Legacy and one of the few strategic railheads in London. 

"The core priorities identified in the community brief and embedded in the project included making industrial uses a better neighbour – The local communities recognised that some heavy industrial uses play a critical part in London’s economy and need to be retained within the Capital. 

"The challenge, however, is that these uses are not suitable to mingle with due to their heavy-duty nature, and some residents were concerned about their proximity to the homes and open spaces. Careful thinking has influenced the location, layout, and buffering of heavy industrial function to mitigate any adverse impacts on sensitive uses in the surroundings.

"Nestled between the A12, the rail corridor to Stratford, the River Lea and the Greenway, Bow Goods Yard today feels island-like and disconnected. Bow Goods Yard is also on the doorstep of the new, exciting opportunities emerging in and around Stratford and directly facing the newest large park of London, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. 

"With the new masterplan Network Rail aims to maximise the opportunity of the railhead in a more compact and modern terminal, and to unlock space to deliver light industrial, workspace, logistics, and leisure alongside it. Bow Goods yard will host a new Network Rail Hub that brings together their offices and maintenance and delivery units, and will form a new front to the park, together with a sequence of public spaces and improved links to nearby neighbourhoods. 

"As the last major site of the Olympic Legacy Bow Goods Yard will deliver a key component of the legacy plan, progressive employment opportunities, and will complement the leisure offer around the Olympic Park."

Read the original Building Design story here