A Shoreditch local journalist revisits the site of the shipping container mall, now part of the long-planned Bishopsgate Goodsyard, and finds the promised park and homes still on the way
The Containers Have Gone
For twelve years, Boxpark Shoreditch was one of the most recognizable sights on Shoreditch High Street: a stack of black shipping containers turned into a pop-up mall of shops, restaurants and bars. It opened in October 2011, hosted more than ten million visitors and more than 250 independent brands, and became, in the words of its chief executive at the time, synonymous with the rise of Shoreditch as the heart of London’s creative industries. In the summer of 2024, after talks to extend the lease failed, it closed. The Caterer reported at the time that Boxpark Shoreditch confirmed its closure after rescue talks failed, with the landlord serving notice to make way for redevelopment.
The landlord was the Bishopsgate Goodsyard, one of the largest development sites in East London, and the closure was part of a much longer story. So two years on, it seems a fair time to ask: what has happened to the park and homes that were promised in Boxpark’s place?
The Goodsyard Plan
The Goodsyard is a 4.5 hectare site straddling the boundary between Hackney and Tower Hamlets, on land once occupied by a Victorian railway goods yard. It is being developed by a joint venture of Ballymore and Hammerson. According to the Goodsyard’s own website, the Mayor of London granted planning permission in March 2022 for a scheme split into eleven plots, to be delivered in stages over the next decade. The plans include up to 500 homes, half of them affordable with an emphasis on family homes, large amounts of office space with some affordable workspace, restaurants, shops, two cultural spaces and a new public park of around 2.6 acres.
The developers also highlight heritage work: opening the listed Braithwaite Viaduct arches to the public, restoring the Oriel Gate as the site’s entrance from Shoreditch High Street and restoring five derelict historic buildings on Sclater Street. The Greater London Authority has approved detailed applications for an office building above Shoreditch station and for the Sclater Street restoration.
NOTYET
The London Prat this week reported that Prince William had ordered three personalised number plates, including NOTYET for his Aston Martin, because he is still waiting to be King. The piece observes that the throne cannot fall vacant through retirement or a poor appraisal. It occurred to me, walking past the Goodsyard hoardings, that NOTYET would make a fine sign for the site. The park: not yet. The homes: not yet. The cultural spaces: not yet. The office building: approved, which in East London means first.
This is not a criticism unique to the Goodsyard. Large, phased developments always deliver in stages, and the order is shaped by finance. Offices and commercial space tend to come early because they generate income that funds the rest. Homes and public space often come later. The Shoreditch Works scheme a few streets away, approved by City Hall this month, follows the same pattern, with homes and heritage restoration late in the programme. Residents have learned to read a phasing plan the way the Prat reads royal succession: with patience, and some scepticism.
It is worth remembering how long the site has waited. The Victorian goods yard was badly damaged by fire in the 1960s and stood largely derelict for decades afterwards, a vast empty space between the City and Shoreditch. Several redevelopment schemes came and went. The arrival of the Overground station at Shoreditch High Street, built across part of the site, and then of Boxpark, were among the first signs of life in half a century. In that context, a decade-long phased plan is, by local standards, almost brisk.
What Was Lost
Boxpark had its critics. Some regarded it as a symbol of gentrification, a shiny commercial strip planted in a neighbourhood that was changing too fast. Others loved it as a cheap, accessible place to eat, drink and watch football on big screens. Whatever one thought, it was a public space of sorts, open to anybody, on a site that had been fenced off for decades before it arrived. Its departure removed a busy, informal gathering place from the high street, and the replacement, however good, is years away.
Boxpark itself moved on. It said at the time that staff and tenants would be offered places at its other sites, including new venues in Camden and at Liverpool Street, and that it hoped to return to Shoreditch when the right opportunity came along.
What To Watch
For residents, the key questions are the timetable for the park, the timing of the affordable homes and the fate of the heritage buildings and arches. A 2.6 acre park would be a significant addition to an area short of green space. Half of up to 500 homes being affordable would matter in one of London’s most expensive neighbourhoods. The opening of the Braithwaite arches could create a striking public route. None of it is here yet. You can follow my reporting on the Goodsyard and Shoreditch development on my author page.
Along Sclater Street
Sclater Street, on the Tower Hamlets side of the site, still has the feel of old East London: narrow, a little ragged, with weekend crowds spilling over from Brick Lane. The derelict buildings due for restoration have stood empty for a long time, their windows boarded and their brickwork patched. When they are restored, they will be among the oldest surviving buildings on the site and a link to the area’s past. Until then, they wait, like the park, like the homes and like a certain prince in an Aston Martin, for the moment when not yet finally becomes now.