Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Feeling the heat? Help our vendors keep cool. Buy a summer support kit for £35
BUY NOW
News

Railway arch businesses contribute £725m to the UK economy every year

The study from the New Economics Foundation highlights the importance of the businesses nestled in Britain’s railway arches amid Network Rail’s sell off

Guardians of the Arches

The businesses at risk from Network Rail’s railway arch sell off contribute over £725m to the UK economy ever year, according to the New Economics Foundation, as the campaign to save them gathers pace.

The finding comes as the four firms still in the running for Network Rail’s £1.5bn one-off sale of its 5,476 railway arches prepare to submit their final bids.

The Guardians of the Arches, a campaign group led by small businesses based in arches and supported by the New Economics Foundation and East End Trades Guild, is calling on the government to intervene in the sale to ensure their interests are protected.

Each business in an arch contributes an estimated £160,000 to GDP every year according to the research, with the 30% of arches tenants in vehicle sale and repair alone contributing nearly £200m a year to the economy

Sarah Arnold, researcher at the New Economics Foundation who conducted the research, said the work of the enterprising small businesses and their contribution to the economy was under threat by the sell off:

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

“Every day we speak to small business owners who have had to shut down or relocate because of massive in-year rent increases, often leaving arches vacant for years. And now, with the impending sale of the estate, their future is even more uncertain. When you look at how much these arches businesses contribute to our economy, it doesn’t make any sense to put all of that at risk.”

After Transport Minister Jo Johnson recently agreed to consider local alternatives to the sale after meeting with the campaigners, the group has proposed 13 considerations to ensure that the arches being sold off “are being managed fairly and transparently”.

Sign the letter to save the arches here

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
As the government moves to ban Palestine Action, are terror laws being used for 'political policing'?
Yvette Cooper
Protest

As the government moves to ban Palestine Action, are terror laws being used for 'political policing'?

From the NHS to the DWP: UK's new data law will make your life 'radically different', minister says
Data

From the NHS to the DWP: UK's new data law will make your life 'radically different', minister says

Inside the food banks seeing 'highest demand ever seen' as cost of living harms families
Food preparation and the cafe at Granville Community Kitchen in North West London. Image: Mary Turner/ IFAN
Food banks

Inside the food banks seeing 'highest demand ever seen' as cost of living harms families

School standards minister dodges question from disabled boy about future of his education
Onside Takeover

School standards minister dodges question from disabled boy about future of his education

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.