The socio-economic impact of businesses in the railway arches
6.
Social and community impact
6.1
The Arch Company supports a number of impacts that go beyond the direct economic impacts associated with investing in and managing space. By prioritising the refurbishment of existing spaces, particularly underused spaces tailored to small and local businesses, the company not only contributes to the conservation of historical and urban landscapes but also promotes sustainable development and regeneration practices.
Supporting the foundational economy
6.2
The foundational economy describes the services, social infrastructure, and goods that people in a community need for their everyday life. The concept is often linked with that of 15 minute cities, which expresses the goal that essential goods and services as well as cultural and social infrastructure should be accessible within a 15 minute walk, cycle, or journey on public transport for any person within the city. The Arch Company portfolio is largely composed of small properties, which disproportionately support small and micro businesses. These businesses, owing to their size, can be expected to largely sell their goods and services in a relatively small geographical area. The portfolio acts to support and provide space for businesses that service local communities, and so support the concepts of the foundational economy and the 15 minute city.
6.3
Providing sustainable spaces
6.4
The most sustainable space is usually one that already exists. At its core, The Arch Company is a business that takes existing spaces and delivers investment to make them usable and attractive to occupiers in the market. The operations of The Arch Company reduce the requirement to develop new spaces, and therefore reduce the emission of spaces. Previous research has highlighted that the retrofitting of existing arches that are currently vacant could produce 50% less carbon compared to building new industrial space. 47 Each square of light industrial space retrofitted by The Arch Company has been estimated to produce 148kgCO 2 e of embodied carbon, compared to between 300kgCO 2 e and 700kgCO 2 e for newly developed space. The approximately 109,000m 2 of space unlocked under Project 1000 could result in a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) savings of up to 60m kgCO 2 e compared to the new development required to support future occupants. This reduction in emissions is comparable to eliminating the carbon footprint of taking 35,000 cars off UK roads for one year. 48 As of 2023, all future improvements and refit spaces in the portfolio are targeted to be brought up to an Energy Performance Certification standard of B as a minimum. This is not a straightforward task given the nature of many of the derelict spaces and historical developments that are managed by the company.
6.5
6.6
6.7
Local employment opportunities
6.8
The businesses and organisations within The Arch Company portfolio contribute to local social and economic outcomes through providing employment opportunities. There are many examples of the
47 Engineering Services Consulting Ltd., 2022. Embodied Carbon Assessment & Benchmarking: New Light Industrial Space.
48 In the UK the average car is estimated to produce 1,682kgCO
2 each year. Sourced from: Nimblefins, 2023. Average CO2 Emissions per
Car in the UK.
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