Plans have been submitted to turn the world’s largest surviving collection of Victorian petrol stations into a development of 2,100 homes.
A proposal by developer St William, a member of the Berkeley Group, would see the Bromley-by-Bow Gasworks in east London transformed into a new mixed-use neighborhood with a riverside park.
The 9.3 hectare site in the borough of Newham contains seven disused Grade II listed petrol stations, representing the largest group of Victorian petrol stations in the world, and almost half of the 19 remaining in the UK.
Although the gasworks closed in 1976, the holders continued to be used for gas storage before being decommissioned in 2010.
According to plans drawn up by architects RSHP, the gasworks would be temporarily demolished and then restored to provide seven residential towers of up to 10 storeys.
The rest of the housing would be contained in six new “pencil” buildings designed to reflect the design of the original gasworks, which would be arranged around a central core.
Commercial, retail and entertainment space is also planned for the precinct, along with open public space.
St William described the scheme as a “one-of-a-kind” regeneration opportunity that would create a viable new neighborhood as well as restore the historic gasholders to their former glory.
However, he warned that the “extraordinary abnormal costs” of site preparation will make it impossible to meet the 35 per cent affordable housing threshold that generally applies to the redevelopment of contaminated gas works.
The cost of dismantling and restoring the oil tankers is up to £80 million, in addition to “substantial” costs related to decontamination, requalification and repair.
A “significant” number of affordable homes would still be included on the site, he said, with 83 social rental homes to be delivered within the first 1.89 hectare phase of the development.
“Taken together, the abnormal site costs required to progress to meet the development plan objectives represent a significant constraint on the viability of the development, but also a unique opportunity to restore the largest group of Victorian petrol stations in the world,” he said. to say.
St William was set up as a joint venture with National Grid in 2014 to develop redundant petrol stations in new residential neighbourhoods, before Berkeley acquired National Grid’s interest last year.
The developer is also behind the planned regeneration of Lea Bridge Gas Works in Waltham Forest, where the original scheme is under review due to increased fire safety requirements and inflationary pressures.
