CHALLENGE
The collaboration between LCR and Network Rail was formed with the objective of identifying housing-led development opportunities on under-utilised, non-operational land around railway sites from across their extensive portfolio.
Savills were instructed by the Collaboration to undertake a review of 725 station sites over a four month period, to identify those with development potential and to prioritise the most suitable sites to be brought forward.
SOLUTION
Given the scale and complexity of the project, the Savills team had a multi-faceted role. The first was Project Management, which was facilitated by the Core Project Team, who were responsible for ensuring that the project was completed within the agreed timescales. This aspect of the role included regular update meetings with the Collaboration, to agree improvements to the methodology and associated timescales as the project evolved.
The second aspect of the role was as Development expert, with the Core Project Team responsible for securing input from specialist teams across the Savills business, at the necessary points in the project. This work stream brought in local market knowledge from our regional development teams, as well as the latest market trends and insights from Savills Research.
Our review was split into three stages:
- Initial Sifting (8 weeks)
- Detailed Site Proforma (8 weeks, overlapping with Stage 1)
- Site Rankings (4 weeks)
RESULTS
Upon completion of the project we provided a master schedule, including commentary on all stations from Stage 1, the statistics used to produce the shortlist and the Stage 3 rankings. This was accompanied by the 111 Stage 2 proformas. The Core Project Team subsequently presented the key findings and outputs from the project to the Collaboration’s Joint Operating Board.
The Core Project Team are now in discussion with the Collaboration to assist in the development of an onward investment strategy and business plan to deliver the identified development opportunities.