Community Rail Network has welcomed the creation of a development company designed to transform surplus railway land into new housing and thriving communities.
Platform 4, formed from a merger of London and Continental Railways Ltd and Network Rail’s Property Team, is set to kickstart £1 billion of development of up to 40,000 new homes over the coming decade on disused brownfield sites on the rail estate, including 15,000 in the next five years.
The company was unveiled by the Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, in a move to supports the government’s Plan for Change commitment to build 1.5 million homes, boosting local economic growth and private sector investment.
The government said Platform 4 would ‘breathe life into forgotten corners of Britain’s railway land’, from disused goods yards to vacant industrial sites, with neighbourhoods in cities including Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Cambridge transformed with homes, green spaces, shops and hotels – creating thousands of jobs.
Chaired by Bek Seeley, the government-owned property company will aim to attract more than £350 million in private sector investment and will tackle the challenges associated with building on railway land. The profits it generates will be reinvested into Britain’s railways, supporting better services and infrastructure.
Heidi Alexander said: “Our railways are more than just connections between places – they create economic opportunity and drive regeneration.
“It’s exciting to picture the thousands of families who will live in these future homes, the vibrant neighbourhoods springing up and the new businesses that will launch thanks to these developments.
“Platform4 will breathe new life into these spaces, delivering tens of thousands of new homes as part of our Plan for Change promise to build 1.5 million homes, while reviving communities around rail stations, supporting jobs and driving economic growth.”
Four sites already earmarked for development include Newcastle Forth Goods Yards, Manchester Mayfield, Cambridge and Nottingham, which together will see the delivery of over 2,700 new homes.
The government said that Platform4 would champion putting stations at the heart of communities, which Bill Freeman, interim chief executive of Community Rail Network, said was the ethos of the growing community rail movement, which is increasingly working with planning authorities to ensure rail and sustainable transport options are given suitable prominence in new housing developments.
Bill said: “We welcome the creation of Platform 4, and the government’s commitment to cementing the role of stations at the heart of communities, driving wider regeneration and sustainable community development.
“While their projects may not be at the same scale, the community rail movement is passionate about revitalising environments on and around stations for the benefit of communities and railways alike. Supported by the rail industry, many of our members have helped to turn land that might be going to waste, sometimes even acting as a burden on the railway estate, into community assets and focal points that deliver social, economic, and environmental value.
“At our recent parliamentary reception in Westminster we launched four policy ideas we feel need greater attention. One of these was calling for a clear, consistent national framework for station buildings and land that will support community-led initiatives and value social impact equally with commercial priorities – ensuring all our stations are welcoming places embedded in the heart of communities.
“By working with rail and other partners to develop cooperation around stations and railway land, community rail can play a vital role in realising the government’s ambition for growth and a rail network that is more responsive to the needs and aspirations of the communities it serves.”
You can read more about community rail projects on railway land in our report on community rail and biodiversity, and this Rail Director article from March 2025.
