The Mayor of London has approved Hammerson and Ballymore’s plans for the Bishopsgate Goodsyard site.

At a hearing at City Hall on Thursday (3rd or December 2020), the Mayor gave the green light for the regeneration of the 10-acre site in the heart of Shoreditch, which is one of central London’s last remaining strategic brownfield regeneration sites.

The revised plans proposed by the joint venture between Hammerson and Ballymore will provide 500 homes, with 50% affordable, as well as 1.4 million sq ft of workspace, including one of the largest single contributions of the affordable workspace of any development in London.

The Mayor’s approval for the revised plans follows extensive public consultation, with over 2,500 people in the local community engaged since 2011, as well as constructive discussions between the joint venture, the GLA, Hackney Council, Tower Hamlets Council and other key local stakeholders.

The masterplan, designed by architect FaulknerBrowns, includes a high line-style elevated public park sitting on top of the restored historic railway arches that will provide a series of connected gardens, terraces and walkways, with a wide variety of biodiversity, including trees and planting.

Designed by landscape architects Spacehub, the park will be one of the largest new parks in central London. In total, the site will have over six acres of the public realm, 25% larger than proposed in the original plans, first submitted in 2014, and covering over 50% of the whole site.

The office buildings, which will provide varied types of workspace to suit occupiers ranging from large corporates to small creative businesses, have been designed by Eric Parry Architects and Buckley Gray Yeoman. FaulknerBrowns has also designed elements of the workspace provision, as well as the residential, hotel and cultural buildings.

Once complete, the scheme will make a significant contribution to the local area and London, supporting over 11,000 jobs and contributing around £540m to the economy each year, as measured in Gross Value Add (GVA).

Robin Dobson, Director of UK Development & Project Management, 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, Ballymore: “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.”