London construction jobs are looking set to take a turn for the better thanks to the first ever project above a Crossrail station to be granted planning permission. The project, which has been approved for multiple providers (Crossrail and Great Portland Estates), has been given the go ahead by Westminster Council and is to include residential, retail and commercial units. The overall size of the new development is planned for 300,000 square feet.
It’s going to be located at the east exit of Bond Street Station.
The development is the second stage in a two stage process. The first stage sees Crossrail building a new ticket hall at Hanover Square: once the ticket hall has been completed Great Portland Estates will move in and start the over site development.
London Construction Jobs and the Crossrail Company
Crossrail isn’t stopping with its Bond Street development. According to David Allen, Crossrail’s finance director, the company is looking to regenerate significant areas of the city above its stations. London construction jobs could be seeing a boom in multiple locations thanks to the company’s efforts. The Bond Street Station over-development is being seen as a possible blueprint for further construction activity with similar goals.
Crossrail’s projected development runs until 2018. Excavations on the first Crossrail station started two years ago. The completed railway line is expected to add 10% to the city’s rail and tube capabilities.
How London Construction Jobs Will Change the City’s Transport
Crossrail is intended to be an underground and overground railway system, starting at Heathrow Airport and continuing through the City and out to Abbey Wood. A second Crossrail line will cover the distance between Maidenhead and Shenfield. London construction jobs are being created to work both on the railway itself and on the peripheral business opportunities that the existence of the new lines will generate.
The two lines will deliver modern transport solutions for the next 100 years of London travel. Platforms are being built to a length of 250 metres to accommodate future larger trains as passenger demand steps up.
How Crossrail May Change London Construction Jobs
Such a modern railway system creates new ways of working as well as new ways of travelling. Crossrail’s legacy to the nation’s capital may include more than just clean, quick and reliable trains.
Design and implementation of future transport related London construction jobs may benefit from innovations made by Crossrail in the lead up to their platform design. The company commissioned a project to develop a fully testable life size model of an underground platform, which has enabled it to accurately forecast the spatial and visual properties of its yet to be delivered stations.
Film set design techniques and materials have been employed in making the mock-up, which significantly reduces the cost of producing life size tester models. London construction jobs that deal with ergonomic design aspects including lighting, sound, finish and cladding may find their future test runs taking place before a single stud has been put in place in the “real” environment!