Monday 6 February 2017

High rise march on Wembley Stadium continues as Network Housing propose 21 storey block on Olympic Way

Click on images to enlarge

Network Housing are proposing a block of 21 storeys and 15 storeys to replace their current 8 storey building at 8 Rutherwood Way Wembley Park. The site is bounded by Olympic Way, Rutherwood Way and Fulton Road.

The Planning Committee at their February 15th Meeting will be given a presentation on the scheme which will provide 242 dwellings:


There will be commercial space at ground level and  external community space, including children's play space, at 1st, 15th and 21st floor levels.

The building will be higher than its immediate neighbours but there are others of that height, or higher, in the Quintain area.  It will not impact on 'most' of the views of the stadium according to the officer's report. LINK

One area of controversy will be how much of the development will be affordable in real terms, not the 80% of market rent, commonly quoted, although the planners use the latter definition in their note:
The submission documents have not included details on the proposed provision of affordable housing within the scheme, officers understand that this is still under consideration by the application team and will be included within any submission. London Plan policy 3.12 requires borough’s to seek the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing, taking account of a range of factors including local and regional requirements, the need to encourage rather than restrain development and viability. The policy requires borough’s to take account of economic viability when negotiating on affordable housing. 

The applicant will be required to demonstrate that the maximum reasonable amount of affordable housing is being provided in this scheme, and this would need to be tested through the submission of a financial appraisal submitted with any future planning application which would be subject to scrutiny by or on behalf of your Officers. 






3 comments:

Philip Grant said...

This blog article saddens me, as "Network Homes" is an organisation that I used to work for, in its early days in the 1970's, when my desk was an old dining room table on the second floor of an old house in Church Road, Harlesden.

Here is what Network's website says about its history:

'We are proud of our history. We started life in February 1974, as Brent People’s Housing Association, acquiring our first home for rent in Willesden.

We grew steadily through the 1970s and 1980s acquiring and building homes for affordable rent across different parts of London, with the help of government funding, for people who could not afford to buy or rent in the open markets.'

How the vision of charitable Housing Associations has fallen by the wayside, through political interference from the Thatcher years of the 1980's onwards!

Philip.

Anonymous said...

Any more high-rise around the stadium and all daytime matches will have to be played under floodlights.

Mike Hine

Unknown said...

lol! They'll be non-stop construction disruption for years to come, let alone the impacts of all the multitude of developments taking place. Still reeling from the now 3 student high rise block on North End Road :(