A new development planned for the London borough of Hackney will create a ‘prestigious’ fashion destination underneath the railway arches on Chatham Place. The scheme will also include new commercial properties around an existing Burberry store, Building Design reports.
Rivington Place Shoreditch
The scheme will be part-funded by Boris Johnson’s regeneration fund, which was established following the London riots of 2011, and Network Rail. Together they will contribute £5.3 million towards the development which is being handled by Harry Handelsman whose previous projects include the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel.
Mr Handelsman, the chief executive of the Manhattan Loft Corporation, has enlisted the talents of David Adjaye the high profile architect responsible for Shoreditch’s Rivington Place. It is hoped that the units will attract international brands as well as local talent from Hackney’s growing fashion industry.
“We believe that within London, Hackney provides the ideal fertile ground for this idea to flourish and become an integral part of the landscape,” Mr Handelsman said.
A spokeswoman for the British Fashion Council (BFC) described the news as ‘extremely positive,’ and said that the involvement of David Adjaye demonstrates the support for the idea.
A public consultation is now being planned and providing there are no unexpected objections the arches will open to the public in September. Meanwhile tenants for the future phases of the development are being sought.
Alongside the tech industries, the fashion industry in Hackney is showing strong growth and helping to transform the local economy. The fear of driving these creative sectors elsewhere, due to a shortage of business properties, forms the basis for the borough’s submission for exemption from the new change of use class rules.
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