The London Development Agency

The London Development Agency (LDA) today announced the appointment of architects East to develop the vision for the redevelopment of Farringdon over the next 25 years.

Commissioned by the LDA's Design for London, with funding from City of London Corporation, London Borough of Islington, London Borough of Camden, English Heritage, TfL- Interchange, Crossrail, GLA and the LDA's Design for London, the Farringdon Urban Design Study will be carried out by East and will plan how Farringdon will manage the increased visitor numbers brought with the introduction of Crossrail and improvements to the Thameslink service.



Farringdon thrives on being a centre for the creative industries with lots of small businesses based in the area. East, supported by Alan Baxter Associates and Locum/Colliers CRE, will develop a strategy to guide how the boroughs can best respond to the changes taking place and steer future development.

Peter Bishop, Group Director for Design, Development and the Environment at the London Development Agency said:
"With the introduction of Crossrail and improvements to the Thameslink service, Farringdon will change considerably over the next 25 years. The Farringdon Urban Design Study will help to steer this change whilst understanding and respecting the unique nature of Farringdon and its special historic fabric .The LDA looks forward to working with East to develop the vision for the area."

Dann Jessen, East Director said: "Farringdon is changing and always has. Its history is an ongoing record of exchange, rebuilding, re-use, servicing of the city, commercial dynamism and changing infrastructure. We are very happy to be involved in guiding its future alongside the LDA. The Farringdon Urban Design Study will consider the public realm up front to establish strong relationships between new and changing interiors and public spaces."

Farringdon sits across the boroughs of Camden, Islington and the City of London and the urban design study will take into account the views of a range of organisations including boroughs, TfL, businesses and residents based in the area. Consultation will play an important role to help ensure that Farringdon is a place where people choose to work, visit and spend their leisure time and money.

Design for London

The proposed Crossrail station at Farringdon will have a significant impact on this area of London. Farringdon has transformed itself successfully over the past 15 years to become one of London's design and creative industry centres. Unlike many other areas affected by Crossrail it does not have the opportunities for large scale change. The fine grained historic fabric of this part of the city could, however, be sensitively improved to capitalise on the opportunities that will be created by Crossrail and improvements to the Thameslink service.



Design for London has brought together a number of key partners to commission an urban design study of Farringdon. This will assess opportunities for development and public space improvements, give a clearer understanding of what can and should be achieved over the next 15-20 years and encourage landowners to pursue a coordinated vision for the area.

East, supported by Alan Baxter Associates and Locum / Colliers CRE, was appointed to undertake the study following a competitive process. The study will be completed in mid-2009.

Partners: City of London, London Borough of Islington, London Borough of Camden, English Heritage, Transport for London, Cross London Rail Links, London Development Agency and Greater London Authority