London's 'new' high streets: railway arches are being turned into foodie hubs with thousands of new homes on the doorstep

Shoreditch is on the cusp of change. If its Goodsyard scheme, 18 years in the planning, gets the Mayor’s blessing next month, it will unlock 10 acres of central Shoreditch for 500 new homes and a new high street, created from boarded-up railway arches that run from Brick Lane to Shoreditch High Street.

Residents of this east London neighbourhood are accustomed to change. Over the last 20 years they have seen the rise of Silicon Roundabout, the creation of new homes and a constant merry-go-round of pop-up restaurants and places to party.

However, The Goodsyard will be a real plus for the community, providing 1.4 million square feet of workspace and six acres of public park. The jewel is the 270-yard high street under historic Braithwaite railway arches which have been derelict since a fire in the Sixties. The restored London Road will house 100 businesses, from exhibition spaces to shops and restaurants.

On top of the arches will be the new park, one of the biggest in central London, increasing the biodiversity of Shoreditch. To satisfy planning officers, the tallest tower has been reduced from 46 floors to 29 and half of the homes will be classed as “affordable”.

The Goodsyard proposal, now on London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s desk for final approval, is the latest example of the creative use of London’s disused but much-loved railway arches. It won’t be the only archway restoration, even in Shoreditch.

The Stage is a £750 million redevelopment of the remains of Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre by Shoreditch High Street station. A Victorian viaduct, opened in 1865 and disused since 1956, currently houses an 8,000sq ft sales suite but will eventually be turned into workspace with parkland on top.

The Stage also has a 37-floor apartment block with 412 homes and a new square lined with shops and restaurants. Prices start from £699,000 for a studio suite and £820,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. Call 020 3770 2154.

On the other side of Silicon Roundabout homes are on sale at the 28-floor Makers building. Prices start from £640,000 for a one-bedroom apartment. Call Cushman Wakefield on 020 3296 2222.

Traditionally, you would find the oily rag brigade underneath the arches — mostly car body repair shops and mechanics.

Architect David Hills of heritage masterplanners Purcell, is a big fan of these arches. He describes them as “evocative and powerful spaces” that suit artisanal shops and creative studios.

With cheap rents and discounted business rates they make colourful and characterful new London high streets. Transport for London has 800 converted railway arches and 85 per cent of tenants are small or medium-sized businesses.

Some of these entrepreneurial clusters have grown organically, such as the Peckham Rye arches in south London where Bar Story, for example, has been serving cocktails and woodfired pizzas for 15 years.

New homes are available nearby at 333-unit Peckham Place, with courtyards and roof gardens. Shared-ownership flats cost £107,500 for 25 per cent. Call 020 3815 2222.

Fourteen arches in Deptford Market Yard were opened up temporarily in the Sixties to creatives and artisans. Sixty years later the site has evolved to become the centre of the area’s foodie scene, with outlets such as Mama’s Jerk, for Caribbean street food, and The Taproom craft beer brewery.

One-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are on sale at Deptford Foundry, built on a former metalworks. Prices start from £410,000. Call 020 7526 9229.

Leake Street Arches, linking Lambeth North and Waterloo, has kept an edgy feel and yet is clean, well-lit and leads pedestrians away from the noisy gyratory.

It has the longest legal graffiti wall in London with graffiti workshops held most weeks and is home to the Polish restaurant Mamuska and Drafts, the board games café.

Like The Goodsyard, the £1 billion Bankside Yards scheme sits between Blackfriars and Tate Modern and is centred around 14 railway arches.

The developer, Native Land, will deliver 600 homes, 1.4 million square feet of office space, homes and independent retail and link the different cultural attractions of the Southbank. There will also be a sweeping stairway leading down to the riverside.

“By opening up the east-west route through the arches, we will unblock a path that has been closed for 150 years,” says Midori Ainoura of PLP Architects, who is leading the project. “Cultural venues like Tate Modern and the Southbank Centre will benefit hugely from being better connected,” she adds.

Work on phase one, Western Yards, started last year and includes a 240-home apartment building and 49,000sq ft of space for retail, restaurants and entertainment in the railway arches. These homes will be launched this summer.

The Bankside Yards arches will become part of the Low Line, a new ecological pathway in the design stage that links the railway viaducts through Bankside, London Bridge and Bermondsey.

The first tenant has moved into TfL’s disused railway arches at Wood Lane.

Prairie Fire, the Oklahoma-influenced barbecue kitchen and taproom, opened this year in time for the Super Bowl. It is in one of 31 arches set to open for business this summer and will benefit from the White City regeneration programme.

“We wanted to be in a new, vibrant development, especially with Westfield, the Television Centre and Soho House nearby. There is a buzz and energy in the air,” says Michael Gratz, founder of Prairie Fire.

Passageways under the working railway line will be opened up and linked to the old BBC Television Centre which is now a mixed-use scheme, and to Westfield and White City Living, where there are one-, two- and three-bedroom homes for sale. Prices in the 2,300-home scheme, by St James, start from £765,000 with access to a cinema, swimming pool and a five-acre park. Call 020 3002 9462.

More affordable homes are on sale in nearby Acton. Housing association L&Q has launched 60 shared-ownership homes at Churchfield Quarter. One- to three-bedroom apartments start from £93,125 for a 25 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat. Call L&Q on 0300 456 9997.

There are challenges to repurposing arches underneath operational railways, explains David Hills, the architect behind the restoration of Battersea Power Station. These can include water coming in, overhead noise and a lack of light. “But they work well for exhibition space, lecture halls and some types of retail involving making or demonstrations,” he adds.

The Archlight Cinema is inside one of the 16 arches at Battersea Power Station with “state-of-the-art insulation” to prevent train noise. Neighbouring businesses include pizza outlet Mother, from Copenhagen, and The Turbine Theatre.

Grosvenor Arch is a short tunnel under the restored overground line that links the river path to the new village. British Military Fitness sessions are held at Grosvenor Arch and it houses the site’s heritage centre.

There are apartments on sale in Battersea Power Station from £870,000. Call 020 3813 2386.