Under local pressure for more housing, the proposed rejigged scheme will now have twice the number of homes at 500 units and a landmark office tower has been cut in height from 46 storeys to 29 storeys.

Overall, the revised proposals for developing The Goodsyard see the removal of the two high-rise residential towers originally proposed for the site in the existing planning application.

The JV is also significantly increasing the size of the proposed public park at the 10 acre, mixed-use urban quarter in the heart of Shoreditch.

Proposals now include 1.4m sq ft of offices and affordable workspace, 175,000 sq ft of shops, a destination building for cultural space on Brick Lane, as well as an elevated park.

The developers, working with master planner FaulknerBrowns Architects, Eric Parry Architects, Buckley Gray Yeoman, Spacehub, and Chris Dyson Architects, consulted on revisions to the existing planning application for the site in November.

Original high-rise plans for Bishopsgate Goodsyard site

John Mulryan, group managing director at Ballymore, said: “Bishopsgate Goodsyard is an incredible site, packaged with a great deal of challenges.

“Thanks to a combination of over five different railway lines and tunnels passing through this site, as well as many heritage assets and structures to be brought back into use, there are a number of site constraints in play.

“The site offers significant development potential that is also capable of being sensitive to the townscape.”

Tony Coughlan, Development Manager at Hammerson, said: “Working closely with the GLA and the local boroughs, we have reviewed our proposals with the aim of further optimising the number of homes, while maintaining a balanced mixed of uses.

“We are excited to bring forward this updated masterplan which we feel realises local ambitions and converts this derelict area into a vibrant new space; bringing a currently unused site back to life in the heart of Shoreditch.”

Figures released by Transport for London detail payments to the Bouygues Travaux Publics and Cimolai SpA – Joint Venture.

Consultant Arup was also paid more than £12m in fees among a total of £53.5m wasted on the project.

The documents state the contractors were paid for “mobilising significant resources, systems, labour, supply chain and support networks to further refine the designs, create prototypes and samples, submit designs for approval by Arup, liaison with third parties to secure rights and consents over areas to erect the bridge and submit details to discharge the planning conditions.”

They were paid £5.1m for the Preconstruction Services Agreement period and £13.4m for the period between being awarded the £90m main contract and the project being scrapped.

A payment of £2.1m was also made for the ‘The demobilisation of staff, offices and repatriation of plant and labour upon suspending the contract.”

Alex Williams, Director of City Planning at Transport for London said: “As part of our continuing commitment to transparency, we have published the final financial breakdown for the Garden Bridge project, on behalf of the Trust, as well as all evidence sought as part of this review.

‘This formally ends our involvement with the project.”

The High Court earlier this month ordered that landlord Ground Rents Income Fund must replace one thousand glazing panels on Manchester’s tallest residential tower because of safety concerns after the discovery that sealant used to fix the panels is failing.

It was given 18 months to complete the refit of the 47 storey building, after main contractor Carillion’s collapse stalled progress to find a remedial solution.

Problems with the sealant around some of the 1,350 single glazed insulated shadow box units was first uncovered back in 2014.

This revealed failure of the bond between the structural sealant and the polyester powder coating applied to the supporting cladding frames.

As a temporary fix, while a permanent solution was found, Carillion fitted pressure plates to the frame profiles to hold the panels securely in position.

This urgent safety work was completed over four years ago. But progress on the subsequent detailed investigation and assessment of options for a safe long term solution became so protracted that nothing concrete was agreed by the time Carillion collapsed a year ago.

Malcolm Naish, the Chairman of Ground Rents Income Fund said the firm continued to take advice on how best to respond to the judgment.

He said: “The court ordered the temporary hoardings which had been erected by Carillion outside the hotel as an exclusion zone to be removed by 28 February 2019. It is expected that the completion of their removal will be finished within days.

“The cost of the permanent remedial works to the façade of Beetham Tower, Deansgate, Manchester, has been estimated by NWGR’s advisers, based on their recommended solution, to be approximately £4.0m, excluding VAT, any professional advisory costs and damages yet to be determined.”

He added: “NWGR is pursuing the proceedings it has already issued against Carillion through its insurers and the sub‐contractor BUG, through existing warranties and indemnities, which, if successful, would greatly limit any potential liabilities or irrecoverable losses for NWGR.

“However, in order to comply with the judgment NWGR will be required to finance the remedial work and any litigation costs while
seeking recovery from Carillion’s Insurers and BUG. There can be no guarantee that NWGR will be successful in that recovery, but it has
received legal and expert advice which suggests that its case is strong.

“If NWGR is unsuccessful in its action against the original contractor’s insurers or the sub‐contractor, it may be able to recover some of the remedial works costs from other parties,” said Naish.

The developer has acquired the plot for £20m from London & Continental Railways, the Department for Transport and HS1 Ltd.

The 1.14 site is adjacent to Stratford International station and Westfield Stratford City.

Telford will now deliver 380 homes with a gross development value in excess of £160m.

Jon Di-Stefano, Chief Executive Officer of Telford Homes, said: “I am delighted that Telford Homes has exchanged contracts on another acquisition involving LCR and HS1 Limited.

“We have enjoyed considerable success in Stratford developing more than 1,750 homes in the area over the last twelve years.

“This site is really well located next to the International station and Westfield, and is an excellent addition to our development pipeline.”

A planning application has been submitted for the 31 storey office building at New City Court in the London Bridge Area.

Designed by AHMM architects, the offices will rise to 139m offering 370,000 sq ft of office and groundfloor retail space.

The project would require demolition of buildings at 20 St Thomas Street and would also see the front elevation of existing Georgian buildings retained and Keat House reconstructed.

The tower will boast a 250-seat auditorium and terrace on the 21st and 22nd floors and an elevated double height public garden within the building on the fifth and sixth floors.

Gardiner and Theobald is on board and has drawn up the construction management plan.

Toby Courtauld, chief executive, said the London Bridge project was one of its most exciting schemes in a development pipeline of 11 projects equating to 1.3m sq ft.

GPE has also committed to three projects in London.

In a trading update, he said at Oxford House, 76 Oxford Street, W1, demolition of the existing building is complete and groundworks have commenced.

At Hanover Square, W1, following the acquisition of the land in October 2018 that sits above the eastern entrance of the Bond Street Crossrail Station, GPE has commenced construction of the main office building at 18 Hanover Square.

The scheme will deliver 221,300 sq ft in total, comprising 167,200 sq ft of offices, 41,900 sq ft of retail and restaurant space and 12,200 sq ft of residential apartments.

Construction of  Cityside House near Whitechapel was progressing well with the  74,700 sq ft Grade A office and retail building expected to open at the end of this year.

The house builder is paying £22.2m for the 0.9 acre Nine Elms Park plot, which it aims to develop in partnership with property and construction group  O’Shea.

The £130m scheme will consist of around 262 flats, of which a quarter will be affordable housing.

Royal Mail’s former South London mail centre site covers  14 acres, of which 8.35 acres are developable and hold outline planning consent.

Nine Elms Park is centred on a linear park, which runs the length of the site east to west, alongside residential-led development and commercial space.

It extends from the new US Embassy to the planned Northern Line extension, which will provide two stations within walking distance.  

With a masterplan by architects Allies and Morrison, Nine Elms Park comprises seven development plots and Plot C is the third plot to be sold, sitting on the southwestern edge of the regeneration area, overlooking the designated Park Basin communal/cultural open space, adjacent to the area of the site committed for a school.

Nine Elms Park outline plan

• 7 building plots, buildings up to 23 storeys.
• Overall floor space of 2.2m sq ft.
• Up to 1,870 residential units.
• 90,000 sq ft of retail (use classes A1 to A5, D1 and D2).
• 160,000 sq ft of business (storage & distribution) floor space (B8).
• A new ‘linear park’

Stephen Conway, Executive Chairman of Galliard Homes said: “Galliard Homes is pleased to have acquired this central London consented site, which once complete will be located within a park setting, just a short walk to the River Thames and Houses of Parliament.

“The wider regeneration area is creating a new destination for South London and has already attracted several major occupiers.”

Chief executive Mark Wild told the London Assembly Transport Committee that there are “thousands of hours of construction work still to be done.”

He said construction work on the stations is now scheduled to be completed this summer before full fit-out work and testing of the line gets underway.

The scheme is currently £2.5bn over budget and a new opening “window” will not be outlined until next month.

Wild said: “By the end of July we are looking for major construction work and wiring testing at the stations to be completed.

“We will then hope to have an opening window by the end of quarter one, but I have no idea how wide that window will be.”

The committee heard how the previous Crossrail management team had bungled initial system integration and testing on the route which was started too early alongside live construction work.

Wild added that the previous executive team had “been overwhelmed by the complexity of the task” of building Crossrail.

A number of former executives were paid hundreds of thousands in performance bonuses as they continually insisted the project was “on time and on budget”.

Wild took over as Crossrail chief executive in November when he discovered construction work on none of the stations was near completion and extra funds needed were £2.5bn rather than previous estimates of £300m.

The six-year regeneration project has now been approved by the London Borough of Haringey.

Work across five pieces of land next to Tottenham Hale’s rail, underground and bus stations will see construction of 1,030 new homes, up to 20 new retail spaces; co-working and office space; a health centre and new public open space.

Tom Goodall, Director, Argent Related, said: “We are very pleased the council and local people have put their trust in Argent Related to deliver the physical change Tottenham Hale deserves and we look forward to delivering on our promises.”

The proposals were developed by a consultant team including Alison Brooks Architects, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Pollard Thomas Edwards and RUFFarchitects, with landscaping design by Adams & Sutherland and Grant Associates.

Argent will be selecting construction partners in the new year.

The developer is understood to have a new construction framework in place containing Laing O’Rourke, McLaren, Sisk, Midgard and Rydon.

Another extra financing package worth more than £2bn was agreed on Monday afternoon as Crossrail chiefs admitted they couldn’t guarantee hitting the revised opening date of Autumn 2019.

The network was originally due to open this week after being heralded for years by the previous management team as “on time and on budget.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “It has been increasingly clear that the previous Crossrail Ltd leadership painted a far too optimistic picture of the project’s status.”

Crossrail first admitted this summer that the project had bust its original £14.8bn budget by £590m and was running late.

The revised total cost of the project is now £17.6bn.

The latest financing package has been agreed by the Mayor of London, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.

It comes as an independent review by KPMG into financing and governance on the project nears completion.

It revealed an estimated £1.3bn to £1.7bn shortfall in funding to complete the project plus the need for an extra £750m contingency fund.

New Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild also confirmed that “having reviewed the work still required to complete the project, an Autumn 2019 opening date could no longer be committed to at this stage.”

It was revealed that “core elements of the infrastructure being delivered by Crossrail Ltd, including the stations and the fit out of the tunnels, are at varying stages of completion and more funding is therefore required to complete it, as well as the extensive safety and reliability testing needed for the new railway systems.”

Mayor Khan said: “I haven’t hidden my anger and frustration about the Crossrail project being delayed. This has a knock-on consequence of significant additional cost to the project.

“It has been increasingly clear that the previous Crossrail Ltd leadership painted a far too optimistic picture of the project’s status.

“I have ordered the release of all Crossrail Board minutes in the last five years to provide transparency to Londoners on their decision making, and working with the DfT, brought in a new leadership team.”

Tony Meggs will become the new Chair of Crossrail Ltd replacing Sir Terry Morgan who resigned last week.

Meggs, who will step down from his role as CEO of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), will oversee the final stages of delivering the Crossrail project.

The Crossrail Ltd Board will be further strengthened with the nomination of former MP Nick Raynsford as Deputy Chair.

Mike Brown, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “Crossrail Ltd’s announcement of the delay to the Elizabeth line is extremely disappointing and, only now, is the scale of what is yet to be completed becoming clear.

“The confirmation of this funding agreement will now allow Crossrail Ltd and its new leadership to focus on finishing the remaining construction work on the stations and tunnels and then completing the vital safety testing in order to open the railway for passengers as quickly as possible.

Mark Wild, Chief Executive, Crossrail Ltd, said: “Since I joined Crossrail Ltd in November I have been reviewing the work still required to complete the core stations and rail infrastructure and begin the critical safety testing.

“It is evident that there is a huge amount still to do. Stations are in varying stages of completion and we need time to test the complex railway systems. This means that I cannot at this stage commit to an autumn 2019 opening date.

“My team and I are working to establish a robust and deliverable schedule in order to give Londoners a credible plan to open the railway and provide a safe and reliable service.

“Once that work is completed we will then be in a position to confirm a new opening date.”

The approval clears the final hurdle for developer Delancey’s plans to replace the once iconic centre with a new town centre-style scheme with new homes, shops, leisure and a new university college.

Demolition of the existing shopping centre in Southwark is now expected to get underway in the new year.

Delancey is using Mace as construction adviser for the complex scheme, which will form the heart of the wider Elephant & Castle housing estate regeneration being delivered by Lend Lease.

The developer’s plan includes over 170,000 sq ft of new shops and restaurants, a 1,000 seat multi-screen cinema and a 500-audience capacity grass-roots cultural venue.

The scheme designed by Allies and Morrison also involves building several housing blocks and a landmark building for the London College of Communication.

A City Hall spokesperson said: “This development will include nearly 1,000 new homes for rent – of which 35% will be at social rent or other genuinely affordable levels – as well as community space, leisure facilities, offices, an enhanced college campus, and improvements to the nearby Underground station.

“By working with the developer and the council, City Hall have secured an unprecedented level of support for traders affected, with their rents now capped below market rates for 15 years, and have got the level of rents in the affordable homes down even further.

“City Hall have used the planning powers available to their fullest extent to make sure these plans represent a good deal for the local area, and having considered all the evidence available, have decided to approve this application.”