Blackhorse Road regeneration

In August 2016, U+I, the mixed-use property regeneration specialist, exchanged contracts with landowner, Parkdale Investments, to bring forward a new mixed-use regeneration project for the Forest Works site on Blackhorse Road, North East London.

Less than 150 m from Blackhorse Road Station, Equipment Works sits within an area earmarked for significant regeneration. The site was identified as a hub within the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Blackhorse Lane Area Action Plan and is located within the new Blackhorse Lane housing zone, which aims to deliver more than 2,500 new homes and 1,000 new jobs in the next ten years.

Councillor Clare Coghill, Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and High Streets described Blackhorse Lane as the area with “...the greatest potential for improvement of any part of the borough.”

As well as £200 million of private investment, the area is benefiting from support from the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund for improvements to its high street and public amenity spaces. In January 2016 it was also announced that Blackhorse Road Station would receive £2.2 million investment from Transport for London for improvements to the station and surrounding area.

Speaking in 2016, Simon Hesketh, Director of Regeneration at U+I said, “We are focused on creating long-term social and economic change for the places in which we develop and we look forward to working with Waltham Forest council and the local community to progress our redevelopment plans for the site.”

In July 2017, U+I announced that it had secured resolution to grant planning consent for the regeneration of Equipment Works and that a temporary community project, Sideshow, would open at the end of 2017.

In January 2018, U+I announced that they had completed sale of Equipment Works to Hertfordshire-based Telford Homes, who purchased the site for £34 million.

Matthew Weiner, chief executive of U+I Group, said; "The sale of Blackhorse Road is another milestone for U+I as we continue towards our target of £65-70m of trading and development gains for this financial year, further demonstrating our ability to add value through the planning system and realise gains efficiently. Our plans will transform this overlooked site into a vibrant new mixed-use community that supports the wider ambitions of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, delivering homes, workspaces and community space for the local area."