The public benefits of the scheme have been enhanced over the last year as CIT has worked on the scheme and responded to the feedback we have received. As a result the project, now delivers numerous key benefits, some of which are summarised below.
Improving local health & wellbeing
Inside and out Vinegar Yard is designed to improve local health and wellbeing. Inside it is suitable for NHS clinical uses – space that Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust can use to deliver healthcare – or for cutting edge research and development that will bring new treatments and technologies to market quicker for the benefit of local communities, London and the UK.
We have worked closely with Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust on the design to make sure that it meets their needs now and in the future as a prospective occupier. As part of this process we have also designed the building to be part of the new emerging SC1 Life Science & Innovation District (SC1) in London Bridge, which is being jointly promoted by the NHS Trust, Kings Health Partners, Lambeth Council and Southwark Council.
Tackling the climate emergency
We have made a commitment that Vinegar yard will be a low carbon build that makes best use of new materials and technologies, and net-zero carbon in operation. It will exceed current Greater London Authority targets for ‘Be Lean, Be Clean and Be Green’ with sustainability measures that include on-site green energy generation, low energy cooling, air sourced heat pumps and water recycling.
Genuinely affordable workspace
At the lower ground levels it is proposed that Southwark Studios will occupy genuinely affordable workspaces for use by individual artists and small businesses in the creative industries.
Affordable workspace for health and knowledge- sector start-ups is also designed at the mezzanine level. As these start-ups mature they can migrate up into the main Vinegar Yard building, feeding the innovation ecosystem the Trust is looking to create.
Together these spaces ensure we are delivering 10% of the floor space of the building as on-site affordable workspace.
Fenning Street Warehouse
The historic Fenning Street Warehouse will be preserved and converted into an event and flexible community space. It is proposed that The first floor will be provided for community use at a peppercorn rent for the lifetime of the development. This is designed to be used flexibly for a mix of events for building users and the community. Retail space suitable for a café at the ground floor will complement a flexible event space at the first floor
Jobs and career opportunities
Vinegar Yard will create hundreds of new jobs and opportunities for local people, both during the construction and the operation of the building. We are working with GoodPeople to make these jobs easy for local people to access. The genuinely affordable workspace we are designing for Southwark Studios will be one of the biggest in central London, creating much needed space for individual artists and creative businesses that builds on the existing creative community in Bermondsey.
An urban garden and tree-lined boulevard
The Low Line is an important feature of the area. It’s a new walking route for London running the length of the mighty Victorian rail viaducts from Bankside to London Bridge, Bermondsey and beyond. Connecting diverse neighbourhoods and communities in south London, it links existing and new hubs of creativity, entertainment, and industry along its course.
Where The Low Line runs along St Thomas Street we will contribute to the creation of a tree lined boulevard, ending at the eastern end of our site with a new urban garden. Here over 2,000 sqft of green space will include mature trees planted in mother earth, providing a moment of calm and relaxation.
Greenery extends up the Vinegar Yard building with a series of planted balconies and verdant roof terraces.
