The placemaking place to be

Large-scale regeneration is essential to renew the capital for the next generation of residents and businesses. Battersea’s iconic silhouette stands as a vivid example. Flagship schemes at King’s Cross, Stratford and Paddington are transforming the capital, but are the days of the grand project numbered in our more uncertain and risk-averse age? Investor appetite for risk has waned since 2008, leading to smaller and more diversified investments, less use of debt and a disinclination to develop speculatively – all trends that suggest London’s placemaking boom could end. Certainly, successful regeneration depends on several factors. The largest schemes transcend individual property cycles, so a strong vision of how a place will work, not just in five but in 25 years’ time, is therefore crucial, as is the courage to see this vision through. Positivity and co-operation They require a large balance sheet. They also necessitate partnership working, often with a jv investor, as well as positivity and co-operation from local government, which may play a role in site assembly, and more widely with businesses and the local community. However, perhaps of greatest importance is another kind of connectivity: infrastructure, and in particular rail. As HS1 has demonstrated in Stratford and King’s Cross, station redevelopment lifts land prices and enhances our environment, helping development to flow along London’s transport arteries. King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership is transforming an industrial wasteland into a 67-acre city quarter. BNP Paribas Real Estate is proud to have been part of this success, funding and developing 6 Pancras Square, a 350,000 sq ft office opposite St Pancras International that is now let to Google. Stratford has seen more than £12.5bn of investment, including Stratford International, the Docklands Light Railway and, from 2019, Crossrail. International Quarter London will rival Canary Wharf, offering more than 4m sq ft of development. If the conundrum of unravelling Old Oak Common and Park Royal from its physical constraints can be solved, then further extensive regeneration will follow. Key transport hub Meanwhile Irvine Sellars and Great Western Development’s Paddington scheme will become one of Europe’s key transport hubs, establishing Paddington as a new gateway to London, linking Heathrow with east London and beyond. We believe such schemes are vital to London’s evolution and we know that the government sees stations and their hinterlands as the place to focus its energy. It’s a no-brainer to build where footfall is massive and facilities can be improved for the benefit of commuters, visitors and residents alike. There are billions in global pension and investment funds searching for a safe investment haven. UK infrastructure hubs – wedded to related development opportunities – tick all the right boxes. To capitalise on this, it is vital that opportunities for growth are fully exploited – HS2, Crossrail 1 and 2, Thameslink, DLR and all of London’s rail corridors must be the focus to identify every opportunity for linking development into the transport network. Here we will find London’s next opportunity for renewal.