TfL seeks to generate £500m from Elizabeth Line property developments

A mixed-use development is to be built above Farringdon station, one of 12 Elizabeth Line projects that TfL hopes will raise a total of £500m. 

An agreement has been signed between TfL and developer HB Reavis to build a 138,000 sq ft scheme above Farringdon's new Elizabeth line platforms on the corner of Cowcross Street and Farringdon Road.

The site will feature ground floor and basement retail combined with seven storeys of office space including a terrace and cycle facilities. Construction above Farringdon station is expected to start later this year.

Director of commercial development at TfL, Graeme Craig, said: “As a key part of our huge development pipeline, the Elizabeth line schemes are directly opening up opportunities for new homes and jobs, and could raise half a billion to reinvest in London's transport network.”

Plans are in place for 12 developments at the new Elizabeth line stations and construction sites. In total, the development plans cover more than three million square feet of office, retail and residential space between Paddington in the west and Woolwich in the east.

The announcement follows the signing of development agreements in March:

• Bond Street station, where an agreement has been signed with Grosvenor Britain & Ireland to develop 110,000 sq ft of floor space above the western ticket hall. The proposed scheme comprises six floors of office accommodation above the station, served by an entrance lobby on Davies Street
• Farringdon station, where an agreement has been signed for the development over the eastern ticket hall with Helical Plc. The scheme, opposite Smithfield Market, comprises 120,000 sq ft of office floor space over six-storeys.
• The site above Tottenham Court Road’s eastern ticket hall, on the corner of Oxford Street and Charing Cross Road, was handed over to Derwent in early 2018. Planning permission has been granted for 209,000 sq ft of offices, 36,000 sq ft of retail and a 40,000 sq ft theatre - the first new West End theatre in a generation.

The Elizabeth line sites are a key part of TfL’s plans to establish a significant long-term revenue stream to reinvest in transport.

Last year, TfL brought forward sites, which will deliver more than 3,800 homes, half of which, it says, will be “affordable”.