Convertibles to Conversions - Repurposing Car Parks to Urban Logistics Hubs

Meeting present and future demand for urban logistic space

There is a need to use space more efficiently and to look at intensification, repurposing, and mixed-use development opportunities to meet our need for distribution space. The Centre for London recently reported that 24% of London’s industrial floorspace has been lost over the past 20 years. Manchester has also seen a sharp contraction in space, with 20% lost over the same period.

Logistics presents a huge opportunity for developers and property owners to make use of the existing spaces, reutilising retail space as last-mile logistics hubs or redeveloping poorly performing retail parks as a distribution facility. There are examples of high street retail units being utilised for last-mile deliveries. For example, on-demand grocery retailer Zapp has leased a retail unit in the Fitzrovia submarket of the West End and Gorillas has a dark store in a former retail unit on Farringdon road in the City.

However, while the concept of repurposing retail space for logistics has attracted a lot of attention, for the most part, it is limited in scope. Most retail facilities have site and building layouts that are not practical for logistics usage, with structures that are difficult to adapt and limited parking for delivery vehicles. Planning departments are often reluctant to lose historic architecture, facades, and traditional retail uses.

That said, there are places where repurposing is taking place, though not all of these are retail conversions. The hunt for space within dense urban landscapes requires creative thinking. Could centrally-located car parks offer potential for conversion?

Sustainable car park repurposing and reducing city centre car emissions

The City of London certainly believes so, viewing them as a strategic way to reduce the need for motorised freight vehicles. The City of London has committed to reducing the impact of freight vehicles within its boundaries, including by delivering three last-mile logistics hubs by 2022 and a further two by 2025. The City of London draft local plan, called City Plan 2036, states that underutilised spaces in car parks “should be considered as a priority for use as last-mile logistics hubs to support this ambition.”

The City of London recently leased 39 car parking spaces to Amazon for a last-mile logistics hub. Located at the London Wall Car Park at the south west corner of the Barbican Estate. These types of last-mile logistics hubs facilitate deliveries by cargo cycles and pedestrian porters, removing large numbers of delivery vehicles from the streets of London.

They are not the only ones looking to replace car parking spaces with last-mile delivery hubs. A report by the Cross River Partnership, December 2020, identified 29 potential last-mile sites in London, 23 of these were car parks. They include car parks in Marble Arch, St Johns Wood as well as Tower Bridge and Kings Road.

British Land recently purchased NCP’s Finsbury Square car park, planning a distribution hub over three levels using electric vehicles only. In 2019, parcel carrier DPD gained planning consent to convert part of an existing basement car park located on Park Lane, in Mayfair, to use as an all-electric micro depot. They also have micro depots in Westminster and Shoreditch and have been lobbying government to simplify planning procedures so that unused city centre premises such as car parks can be more readily converted into these all-electric micro-depots.

Planning consents have also been granted to install last-mile logistics hubs in Harley Street Underground Car Park and at Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, and plans have been submitted to convert part of a car park to a last-mile logistics hub in Tower Hamlets.

As city centres look to encourage more electrified and non-motorised vehicles, this also brings opportunities for more mixed-use and multi-modal urban warehouse developments. For example, in Paris, the redevelopment of the Gobelins rail station will include a mix of office space, logistics space and public realm. The development will house a 75,000 sq m underground logistics centre and will feature charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.

A sustainable mixed-use regeneration scheme is planned for Albert Island at Royal Docks in Newham, London. The scheme plans to incorporate two multi-storey warehouses and light industrial space, alongside a university training hub, boatyard, residential and public realm (including a marina and riverside paths). The site is located adjacent to City Airport and there are DLR (Docklands Light Railway) stations nearby.

As the need for more warehousing space in our cities grows, we expect to see more repurposing plays and more developments incorporating logistics space within mixed-use schemes. With smaller city centre distribution hubs on the rise as the use of bicycle couriers increases, sites are being used more intensively and car parks and underutilised retail units offer further potential for expansion.