Street food arriving soon thanks to Lanes Group drain surveys

One of London’s most popular hidden destinations is to be turned into a street food arcade thanks, in part, to drainage investigation work carried out by Lanes Group plc.

The Liverpool Street Arcade, created as London Underground trains switched from steam to electricity, is to become the BoxHall City, with a collection of food, drink and events venues.

Lanes Professional Services, working with colleagues in the Lanes Rail Division, has helped make the transformation happen by carrying out intensive drainage surveying work on behalf of the site’s owner, Transport for London (TfL).

CCTV surveys

Civil and structural engineers needed to know the precise locations of all surface and foul water drainage assets are, and how they worked, before they could begin to design the refurbished units in the Metropolitan Arcade.

Andrew McQueen, Head of Lanes Professional Services, said: “We carried out visual and CCTV surveys of all drainage pipework within the arcade and their connections with the wider off site drainage system.

“In some case, this required erecting scaffolding to access high level pipework. We also had to work below the arcade, because most of the drainage pipes drop into the underground station below it.”

Highly accurate

Over a two-month period until May 2023, 250 metres of pipe were identified, surveyed and mapped, up to 150 metres of it cast iron pipework installed when the arcade was built.

This has allowed Lanes Professional Services to provide TfL with a highly accurate plan of the drainage system, along with CAD drawings that design engineers and architects can use to design the new space.

The Liverpool Street Arcade, close to Liverpool Street Main Line Station, was built in 1912 because the underground station below it could be enclosed for the first time as the Tube was electrified replacing steam trains that needed ventilation to prevent stations filling with their smoke.  

Around 100 metres long, in recent years it has hosted a range of retailers, including a shoe mender, a flower shop and a jewellers.

Food destination

Hospitality and casual dining specialist BOXPARK has now agreed a lease with TfL to create a vibrant all-day dining destination, offering high-quality food and drink from independent food traders and restaurant operators, which is due to open in 2024.

Lanes Professional Services is a division of Lanes Group, the UK’s largest independent drainage and wastewater specialist. 

Its services include engineering and design consultancy, drainage and hydraulics, drone surveys, and site and structural engineering surveys, with particular expertise in rail and transport infrastructure.

Lanes Rail delivers a wide range of asset maintenance and facilities management services for TfL, focused primarily on both the underground and overground rail networks.