The representations made by Cllr Ihtesham Afzal, (Wembley Hilll ward), set the context for consideration of the Wembley High Road planning application for two student blocks, together housing 639 students, at Wednesday's Planning Committee. Another student block at Fairgate House, adjacent to the site, of 349 beds, 35% affordable, has already been consented. The blocks of 20 and 22 storeys are wedged between Wembley High Road and the Chiltern railway line.
Cllr Afzal questioned why student accommodation when there was a crying need for housing for the thousands of people on Brent's housing list. I have embedded the video of the discussion that resulted above as it rehearses many of the arguments on both sides of the debate and important for future applications.
A particularly controversial aspect of the proposal was that unlike Fairgate House, the scheme proposed no affordable student housing at all, based on a viability assessment.
The developer, Regal London, claimed exceptional reasons for the lack of affordable accommodation and offered £3.95m for affordable housing elsewhere as well as £70k towards local parks.
Some councillors were perplexed by the developer's claim that there are 5 higher education institutions in the borough with a total of 4,695 students that needed accommodation and 37 higher education institutions within a convenient 45 minute journey with a total of 176,100 students. Why was Brent expected to take more than its fair share of students?
The Committee chair, Cllr Matt Kelcher, suggested that students may want purpose-built accommodation in their first year but later, having made friends, they wanted to move together into shared private rental. The developer argued the opposite - that building such accommodation would mean that students would move in from privately rented accommodation freeing it up for families.
There was also concern about ther loss of light to neighbouring new developments as well as to the flats above the shops on Wembley High Road. and the loss of trees on what was once (and still is on the other side of the railway) a green corridor along the embankment.
Councillors were told that replacement trees (planting and maintenance) cost an average of £2,500 per tree. 58 trees woudl be lost and 41 new trees planted. The latter were of superior quality councillors were told.
Curiously, some of the councillors who had asked the most incisive questions voted for the scheme, including the Chair, Matt Kelcher, and the Vice Chair, Saqib Butt (the Council leader's brother) LINK. I leave it to readers to watch the video and see if the questions they had raised had been adequately answered.
Four councillors voted in favour of the scheme and three against.
Those voting against an application are required to give their reasons:
Cllr Chappell - no affordable student application provided and did not agree that there were exceptional reasons for this.
Cllr Dixon - the site allocation as student accommodation was problematic, disagreed that there were exceptional circumstances to justify lack of affordable accommodation. The £3.95m to be provided towards provision of affordable housing elsewhere was not sufficient - should be renegotiated. Doesn't meet some of Brent's standards.
Cllr Maurice - site would be better off as flats as Brent has such a shortage of housing and the site could be better utilised: 'I am not happy with the whole thing'.
The proposal now has to be considered at Stage 2 by the London Mayor. No comments so far. LINK
15 comments:
£70,000 for trees elsewhere? That's a drop in the ocean for this developer and will no way offset the loss of the existing trees and the pollution from this development -
Brent Council have declared a climate emergency!
Do they actually understsnd what 'climate emergency' means???
Such a pity that the Chair and other Councillor having asked very pertinent questions, and the Chair stating the obvious, neither had the backbone to vote against this ridiculous application. I would advise that before the GLA gives their final decision they should research the verified reviews of Student Accommodation currently being offered in Wembley Park. Not least the facts that many regret their decisions based on affordability and the services they receive. The suggestion by the applicant that they will leave family housing to go back into Student Halls Accommodation is way off the mark, suggests they are living in a parallel universe?
Is there anyone out here that can verify that the cost of planting a tree and maintenance is £2500 and show me the math? How stupid am I, I thought you bought a decent Tree, dug a hole, put in all the right ingredients to promote growth, supported and fenced it for protection, feed it with nutrients once a year and then leave it to the elements i.e rain and sunshine to do the rest, and after many years prune it to keep it in good shape.
Good to see Cllr. Afzal speaking up for affordable housing for local people in Wembley Central.
But when I wrote to him over my efforts to get Brent Council to include more genuinely affordable Council homes in their own Cecil Avenue development, I got no reply.
London Borough of Bent has no shame
Students contribute significantly to the diversity of an area. The presence of students fosters a dynamic community, bringing in a mix of backgrounds and perspectives. Some of Labour's best councillors have emerged directly from student experiences, without any other work experiences showcasing the talent they have which was recognised by our residents. They have a good understanding the challenges faced by the younger demographic. Moreover, embracing student accommodation aligns with woke values by acknowledging the economic contribution students make to the local community. Students not only inject vitality into the high street through their spending but also often take up part-time work, contributing to the local workforce. This symbiotic relationship fosters a more economically vibrant and socially interconnected community, resonating with Labour's commitment to both social justice and economic prosperity. investment in developments like this need to be applauded and we need to thank Cllr Butt for his leadership.
In case anyone understands from the above comment that Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council directly influences the Planning Committee, please note that at the beginning of each Planning Committee the Chair reminds members and the public that this is a non-political, quasi-judicial committee.
There should be an organised campaign and petition against this housing scheme.
What I'll judged comments you make!
Families needing houses would far better contribute to the local area - they would bring up their families here, take up local jobs and create a proper long term community.
Student accommodation contributes nothing to the council tax pot but the students will all use our already hard pressed local services.
As for students going straight from university into politics, is this because they will vote as the leaders tell them? What life experience do they have???Probably some very experienced and fortnight candidates with extensive life experience have been not selected or deselected to make way for these students.
Dear Anon: 15 December 2023 at 18:11
So you are saying that students are more important than homeless families?
As for Brent's inexperienced councillors who were students not long ago, how did you judge their expertise, from what residents see, most are pathetic and blinkered.
Why do we need 30,000 plus student rooms in Brent? Ah, so they can work in the bars to serve the other students.
There is so much wrong about your diatribe, but, as said, blinkered.
It's crucial to approach housing discussions with empathy. Dismissing the need for student accommodation can be seen as student-phobic, perpetuating stereotypes that the people who are against students, were just lacking in intellectual ability. We can still work towards inclusive solutions that address the housing challenges faced by both students and families.
It's essential to recognise that life experiences can be diverse and valuable, not solely defined by traditional work experience. Students entering politics bring fresh perspectives and can challenge outdated cultural attitudes. For example, prejudiced beliefs of some generations that dictate what a woman is based on their genitalia. Whereas, the fresh thinking of our Cllrs fresh from being a student has brought us trans inclusive initiatives such as a rainbow zebra crossing outside Brent Council for example.
The more students we can accommodate here, the better for our Brent. We need to harness both their minds and incomes.
So students and pointless painted crossings are more important than families who need houses?
We need to build proper community here with people who become invested in the area where they live. The more long term residents care about the area the better for everyone.
Already 19% of properties in North Brent are overcrowded - how does extra student accomodation paying no council tax help anyone?
“19% of properties in North Brent are overcrowded” - in what way and how? Where did all these people come from?
We can all see the difference between the words and the reality!!!
17 December 2023 at 19:19 Anonymous said.“19% of properties in North Brent are overcrowded” - in what way and how? Where did all these people come from?” - have your not seen all the thousands of HMOs with families crammed into them?
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