The Guardians of the Arches’ battle to stop Network Rail from selling off the nation’s railway arches has ended after an agreement was reached to sell them for £1.46bn.
Despite assurances from the government that it would listen to all parties and consider all bids before making a decision, it has now pulled the rug out from underneath the thousands of business owners and tenants across the country.
Financial services and investment firms Blackstone and Telereal Trillium will hold equal ownership stakes in the deal, announced yesterday, that includes 5,200 properties, the majority of which are arches. Network Rail intends to use the generated funds to support railway upgrades and improvements.
On the Jeremy Vine Show now, Chris Hill of @latitude_wine setting out our concerns about the sale of the arches. LISTEN: https://t.co/aiERm684sC#SaveOurArches
— Guardians of the Arches (@ArchesGuardians) September 11, 2018
Responding to the news, Guardians of the Arches spokesperson said: “Throughout this process we have sought to ensure that small businesses are genuinely protected so that the arches can thrive. We continue to dispute whether selling off the whole estate in one job lot is the best way of supporting small businesses and the local economies which rely on them.
“There is a long way to go in the sale process, but if Blackstone and Telereal successfully purchase the estate we trust they will follow up on their stated intention to put ‘tenants first’ in their management of the estate. A starting point would be to meet out demands for a full, transparent rent and lease audit, and to recognise Guardians of the Arches formally as a tenants’ association. We represent hundreds of businesses, and our number is growing every day. It is in the interests of all concerned that our proposals are taken on board.”