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Residents of west Walthamstow (y’know, the bit next to the wetlands, near St James Street and Blackhorse Road stations), we come bearing exciting news. The area is set to get a brand-new hub for restaurants, cafés and retail, as a project has been given the green light to revamp a series of derelict railway arches.
The arches are at Courtenay Place (under St James Street station) and there are 16 of them. The plans were unveiled last year but they were given official approval by a planning committee just last week.
So, what exactly is in store for these Stow railway arches? Well, Waltham Forest Council appointed architects Feix&Merlin and Extended Studio to ‘reimagine’ the arches as part of a wider St James Quarter regeneration project. The reinvigorated area will be a ‘green link’ between the station and Walthamstow High Street.
The project intends to improve the area as a public space (with new lighting, signage, art projects and a ‘pocket square’) as well as refurbish the arches to provide more ‘business opportunities’. One of the arches is also to be turned into an accessible toilet.
The proposals were approved last Tuesday (March 4), with five councillors reaching a decision after 13 minutes. Labour councillor Jenny Gray said the plans were a ‘really good idea’ and would ‘bring life to a dead area’. St James Street previously benefitted from the opening of shipping container market CRATE in 2019.
The project is part funded by UK Government and forms part of Waltham Forest Council’s Walthamstow ‘Culture for All’ Programme of projects. It follows other railway arch regeneration plans in areas like Peckham and Bermondsey.
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