There is enough space above London railway lines to build apartment blocks adding 250,000 new homes for the capital.

London’s housing shortage could be solved according to a report from engineering consultants WSP by building 250,969 new homes above existing railway lines to benefit first time buyers and home movers.

The plan referred to as rail overbuild has already been used in New York for two 20-story buildings and closer to home at Liverpool Street and Charing Cross regenerating the areas.

About 100 sq m of space above railway lines can be used for apartments rising to 12 storeys creating new homes to meet the capitals housing needs for five years.

Right now in London WSP are working on a variety of projects that rise above rail lines including a 50-storey residential tower, homes above a new Crossrail station and Chelsea Football stadium.

New homes needed for London

The report shows the capital is a highly attractive place to live and work and since 2000 the population of London has increased by 95,000 every year on average.

London needs 50,000 new homes to be constructed every year until 2025 just to keep up with projected housing demand yet over a year to March 2017 less than 6,423 homes have been completed.

The lack of new homes could mean remortgage buyers staying in their current property and increasing their mortgage to releasing capital which they can use to improve their home.

Bill Price, WSP director said, we have to be more creative in using existing space in what remains a relatively low-rise city.

Since 2001 some 90% of home in London have been built within 1km of a station and the Mayor of London’s office has recommended that could be delivered by increasing the density of new schemes.

The London boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Croydon and Transport for London Zones 2, 3 and 4 provided the most ‘overbuild’ development potential.

If these properties are promoted to younger people as studios or one-bedroom apartments they would also be attractive to buy-to-let investors.

Building homes out of thin air

The air rights above rail tracks present an unrealised but significant opportunity to build more new homes on brownfield land, says Mr Price.

Rail lines can segregate areas so by ‘decking’ over lines you can join together sites to unlock large number of new homes and create new vibrant communities, such as the proposed regeneration west of Earls Court.

There are 1,142km of uncovered track in London with ten metres of available land on both sides and the report shows that if a conservative 10% of this total was delivered it would provide a quarter of a million new homes.

A ‘rail box’ is reinforced with solid concrete walls creating an enclosed area below with tried and tested materials and construction techniques to isolate noise from the residential development above.

Compared to building major infrastructure projects, rail overbuild could be a quicker and less costly way to unlock large housing schemes ideal for first time buyers and home movers.

Help with the deposit for a new home can come from family members as the equity release buyer can access cash using a lifetime mortgage and gift to a child or grandchild.

Mr Price said it is important to emphasise the engineering is absolutely possible and not new. WSP have been working on projects of this nature in New York for decades.

What are your next steps?

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