The socio-economic impact of businesses in the railway arches
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Executive Summary
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This report highlights the significant socio-economic contribution made by businesses in the railway arches. The currently occupied spaces within The Arch Company portfolio are estimated to support 25,600 Full Time Equivalent jobs (FTEs). Organisations in The Arch Company spaces provide key supply chain links for local communities and urban economies, with this having a multiplier impact supporting further indirect jobs. Volterra estimates that this additional activity supports 16,100 FTEs as a result of indirect impacts and a further 1,400 FTEs as a result of induced impacts through worker expenditure. This results in a further 17,500 FTEs supported in addition to those directly based within the portfolio. Employment by organisations within The Arch Company portfolio support a significant amount of economic activity. Measured in Gross Value Added (GVA) terms, this is estimated to total £2bn each year. When combined with the GVA indirectly supported and induced by these businesses, this figure rises to £3.3bn. If the commercial property occupied within The Arch Company portfolio were a local authority, and the indirect and induced impacts are taken into account, it would rank above 162 of the 375 local authorities in the UK in terms of its economic contribution. The cumulative economic output created by businesses within this large collection of smaller scale properties is a material contribution to the national economy. The economic activity directly supported by these organisations feeds into tax revenues for Government, estimated to total £590m to £790m annually through income, business and property taxes. This excludes any indirect impacts supported by the supply chains of these organisations. Of this figure, commercial property maintained by The Arch Company is estimated to support £42m annually in business rates payments. 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. The wider socio-economic and environmental impacts that benefit local communities include: ● Supporting the foundational economy – The foundational economy refers to the concept of the services and goods that are essential to everyday life, and is often linked to concepts such as 15 minute cities, which is the principle that basic amenities should be accessible within 15 minutes for each resident via sustainable transport modes. The Arch Company spaces, which are generally small in size and so disproportionately benefit small businesses, acts to support these concepts by creating spaces for businesses that serve their local communities. ● Providing sustainable spaces – The most sustainable spaces are those that already exist. The retrofit of industrial space by The Arch Company has been estimated to reduce carbon generation by 50% compared to building new industrial space. 1 The refurbished space delivered under the company’s ongoing regeneration programme alone would be estimated to save 60m kgCO 2 e compared to comparable new developments. This is equivalent to 35,000 times the average yearly emissions per car in the UK, and so would be equivalent to eliminating the carbon footprint of 35,000 cars on the road for a single year. ● Providing local employment opportunities – Skilled trades and machine operative roles provide valuable skills development opportunities. These roles are estimated to be more prevalent in The Arch Company properties than in the general workforce. Businesses in the railway arches also support local employment opportunities; 32% of workers in the portfolio are estimated to live in the same local authority as they work.
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1 Engineering Services Consulting Ltd., 2022. Embodied Carbon Assessment & Benchmarking: New Light Industrial Space.
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