The site

The site’s history

The area surrounding Old Jamaica Road has a long and varied history of business uses that stretches back to the last decades of the Georgian period.

Originally filled with workhouses and factories, the area received national attention when the first train to ever pull into central London arrived at the nearby Spa Road Station in 1836.

Over 150 years later, the railway arches that carried those first trains still stand, providing space for dozens of businesses.

The site today

Today, the site supports light industrial uses and the London Borough of Southwark has identified the site as Strategic Protected Industrial Land, meaning that any development must retain and grow the industrial use of the site.

Safestore’s proposals would look to modernise this space while retaining the site’s industrial character. Safestore’s operations (class B8 – storage or distribution) are less intense than other industrial use classes and would have a limited impact on the local area.

Retaining the current industrial use of the site is important as London is facing a shortage of industrial space. According to a report from the Centre for London, a quarter of the capital’s industrial floorspace has been lost in the last 20 years, damaging London’s economy, squeezing out businesses and costing jobs.