Bishopsgate Goodsyard (1998 – 2001)

"A great new community use for a long derelict space"

This project brought back into economic use the largest single development site in the City fringe area Bishopsgate Goodsyard, empty and derelict for over 30 years, was developed through a public–private sector partnership into a wide range of mixed uses, generating economic activity through new business creation and the protection of existing enterprise. The Goodsyard was the earliest railway building in the country, closed when Liverpool Street Station was newly opened. It then became the Bishopsgate Goodsyard in 1881, declining in the 1940’s and 50's as a result of competition from road haulage, and closing in 1964. Since then it was used as a car and lorry park with arches occupied by business for storage and car breaking.

The site is located just to the north of Spitalfields Market, straddling the border between Tower Hamlets and Hackney. USM’s plan was to convert parts of it to provide flexible accommodation for a mix of uses that included workshops and studio space, cafes, leisure facilities, a swimming pool, gym and other commercial uses. The scheme introduced a new modern infrastructure, fit–out premises and a well–managed, secure, characterful area. As part of the Chelsea-Hackney line, London Underground undertook a CPO of the USM lease and the site is now largely demolished, though the listed Braithwaite tunnel is preserved