Thursday 23 November 2017

Boxpark and Quintain submit planning application to Brent Council


The following is a press release issued by Boxpark and Quintain today. Lots of buzz words but is this what Wembley needs? The planning application  is for a ten year stay at the site.
 
Boxpark and Quintain have submitted the planning application for Boxpark Wembley to the London Borough of Brent – following the announcement in September that Boxpark is coming to Wembley Park, under a 10 year joint venture agreement.

The brand new casual dining and event destination is located directly on Olympic Way (known to fans the world over as Wembley Way) in the heart of the 85-acre Wembley Park site. It will mark a significant step forward for Wembley Park as it looks to grow its reputation as a cultural destination as well as for Boxpark, which will be delivering its biggest premises to date, helping secure its status as one of the UK’s most innovative street food operators.

The 27 tenant units, specially designed to respond to the vibrant Wembley event day experience and to service the ever-growing delivery market, are arranged around a covered event space, which can be transformed from a casual dining experience to a performance space. Unit sizes will range from 500q.ft to 1800 sq.ft and will create a new dining and cultural hub for those living in, working at and visiting Wembley Park.


The dedicated events space will provide a year round events destination, creating and hosting a programme of innovative events for up to 2,000 people. Working together with emerging local artists and established talent from across the country, Boxpark Wembley will further cement Wembley Park's reputation as a destination alive with activity.

Boxpark Wembley will also provide an outstanding event day experience for visitors to the National Stadium and The SSE Arena, Wembley and deliver a local venue for the 4,000 students and 2,000 people who already live at Wembley Park.  The 10 year joint venture will offer year round animation to the area undergoing rapid transformation with 3,000 homes under construction by the end of this year. 

This announcement comes at an important time for the London Borough of Brent as it looks to ramp up its bid to become the London Borough of Culture in 2020.
Speaking about the submission, James Saunders, Chief Operating Officer of Quintain (delivering Wembley Park), said:

“Today marks an exciting day for Wembley Park – and showcases just one of the many changes taking place in the redevelopment of the area, as we move from being a place people associate only with event days – to a cultural hub, coming alive with brand new homes, offices, activities and now a Boxpark.”

Adding to this, Roger Wade, Founder and CEO of Boxpark, said:

“We are delighted to announce the submission of the Boxpark Wembley plans. Boxpark Wembley is the next step in Boxpark design evolution, and features a 20,000 sq ft seating and event space. Our hope is to work closely with the major venues in the area to create an innovative fan experience. But first and foremost we want to create a fantastic Eat, Drink and Play experience for the local community.”

Boxpark Wembley will further cement Wembley Park’s reputation as an emerging creative quarter, and will be neighbours to leading arts organisation, Second Floor Studios and Arts (SFSA) – who are opening 26 affordable studios for creatives in early 2018.

Boxpark Wembley is set to open in late 2018, and will in the coming months begin the process of letting the units to an array of talented traders from across London.

For more information about Boxpark please visit: www.boxpark.co.uk

The planning application can be viewed via the London Borough of Brent planning portal LINK 

7 comments:

Scott said...

Quintain: owned by John Grayken who Frobes Magazine describes as the "robber barons of the new millennium, few are as secretive--or as loathed--as John Grayken"

Sandro said...

Who has Butt & the majority of the other Councillors on the end of a string as if they were his puppets to play with at his leisure!

Wembley Res said...

Has it been established yet who Olympic Way actually belongs to. To my knowledge it was developed by Wembley Council (a venerable body)as the Main Approach to Wembley Stadium for the 1948 Olympic Games thus its name and thus belongs to us and not Quintain. As such I object very strongly to this development.

Anonymous said...

Butt, Boxpark and Quintain.
BBQ.

Delivering Tomorrow's Slums Today

Philip Grant said...

Dear Wembley Resident (and anyone else interested),

One of my local history projects at the moment is preparing a document about Olympic Way.

The road which opened as Olympic Way in 1948 was actually a project carried out and paid for by Wembley Stadium Ltd, while Wembley Borough Council made associated improvements to Bridge Road / Wembley Park Drive in preparation for the 1948 London Olympic Games.

However, this is an extract from my document which may throw some more light on who owns Olympic Way:
'In 1979, permission was given for the BEE Palace of Engineering building, on the east side of Olympic Way, to be demolished. Further planning permissions given by Brent Council in 1980, for new commercial and office buildings on the site, included conditions that Wembley Stadium Limited would sign a “Section 52” agreement to ‘make up Olympic Way and the subway between Wembley Park Station and Olympic Way to a standard suitable for adoption,’ and that the company would ‘contribute towards the cost of improving the Olympic Way / Bridge Road junction.’ My research has not yet discovered whether or when Brent Council did formally “adopt” Olympic Way as a public highway.'

It seems quite likely that Brent Council DID adopt Olympic Way as a public highway, as:
'In 1991, Brent’s Traffic Division applied for, and was given, planning permission for the pedestrianisation of Olympic Way ...' (the project that gave us the present pedestrian-centred highway and the "Bobby Moore Bridge" subway under Bridge Road).

Only a narrow strip of the proposed site for the "Boxpark" is actually on Olympic Way. Most of it is on a corner of the former BEE Palace of Industry (demolished in 2013) site.

Philip.

Anonymous said...

I'm quite excited to have a Boxpark in Wembley - finally a good decision following a poor choice of shops in the outlet. Quintain needs to leave the little of Wembley is hasn't ruined yet alone, it clearly has no competition and that's never healthy.

Philip Grant said...

OLYMPIC WAY INFORMATION:

Further to my reply of 24 November above, my local history article on Olympic Way is now finished, and available to read, for anyone interested, on the Brent Archives website at:
https://www.brent.gov.uk/media/16409364/the-olympic-way-story.pdf

Philip.