Wembley Matters contributor, Philip Grant, has been assiduous in following the proghress (or lack of it) of the Wembley Housing Zone in Wembley High Road/Cecil Avenue. The main theme is the lack of truly affordable housing with the amount diminishing over the years when Brent could have acquired much more. See LINK for one of the main articles and the adjacent search box for more. (Search for Wembley Housing Zone).
Now the mainly private development (and the developer through increased value of the development) will benefit from plans for a courtyard and community centre/centres on the site to be paid for by Brent Council.
There are very few details about the community centres (there are two options) in the documentation. The developer Wates would contribute Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy monies to Brent Council but Brent Council would use this to enhance the scheme through outside community space and a community centre. Additional monies woud be needed from SCIL for the more expensive option:
The proposed capital contribution of up to £11.23m SCIL is necessary to deliver the infrastructure elements of the scheme. The Wembley Housing Zone development is itself estimated to generate £5.267m Brent CIL receipts and Wates are liable to pay this sum. Therefore the net additional SCIL ask to the Council to fund the infrastructure elements of the scheme for Option#1 is £2.6m and for Option#2 is £5.96m. The Council has sufficient Strategic CIL reserves to meet this request.
As reported to Cabinet in August 2021, the Council can retain and lease the commercial and community space on the WHZ scheme, or dispose of it for a one-off capital receipt. Requested costs at Appendix 1 present two options, both of which would deliver the publicly accessible courtyard. Option #1 at £7.87m would also designate one flexible community and commercial space for the new community centre. Option #2 at £11.23m would however designate both flexible community and commercial spaces for a larger new community centre. Marketing of the commercial and community spaces will determine the range of occupiers interested in the WHZ scheme, and on what terms. Whether or not it is in the Council’s best interest to pursue Option 1 or Option 2 will depend on market demand and the balance of socioeconomic and financial outputs that can be delivered.
This is a substantial sum of money from SCIL but the Officers' report states there are sufficient funds in the account to cover the cost:
There is a foreword to the Officer's Report by Cllr Shama Tatler which in my view amounts to a Brent Council party political broadcast during an election period (or parliamentary candidate pitch) but has been defended by the Brent Council CEO as clearly separate from the officers' contribution. See the Report and Foreword HERE,
Extract from Shama Tatler's Foreword:
Working in partnership with Wates Construction and the Mayor of London,
Brent Council is delivering on its longstanding commitment to revitalise the
eastern stretch of Wembley High Road. This report sets out how we will embed
community use at the heart of our regeneration plans for the Wembley Housing
Zone, with a landmark £11.23m investment into a publicly accessible courtyard
garden, alongside new community facilities. A Labour pledge met to continue
using public assets for public good – balancing regeneration projects in the
interests of the many in search of a new home, not the few that decry change.
The economic regeneration of Wembley is clear for all to see, from the world-
class Stadium to the re-developed public realm – thousands more Londoners
now also call the area home, and the area is attracting more inward investment
than ever before. This has been made possible thanks to long-term public and
private partnership, leveraging resources, expertise and crucially, investment.
Through the Wembley Housing Zone we have another opportunity to create
another powerhouse, driving positive change along Wembley High Road.
The housing crisis did not begin yesterday, and it will not finish tomorrow. It is
therefore vital that we create plans which respond to the economic drivers as
they are not as we wish them to be. We have a moral imperative to do all in our
power to build more housing and communities that last long into the future. The
regeneration that underpins the Wembley Housing Zone, is exactly that – an
effort to build a better Brent, a place where home ownership is a reality, not just
a dream. Supply of housing, of all tenures is vital to this, after all in the United
Kingdom we have some of the lowest ratios in Europe for housing stock to
people. Taken together with the toxic headwinds of inflation, prices are being
pushed everywhere and house prices are now at their most unaffordable,
relative to earnings since 1876.
Of course community centres are much needed and more community space essential and welcome in the increasingly dense Wembley High Road but could Brent Council have got a better deal from one of their favoured developers?
19 comments:
I find it difficult to see how Brent's Chief Executive can, apparently, claim that the party political propaganda in the section of the Report headed "Cabinet Member Foreword" is 'clearly separate from the officers' contribution.'
The Report to the Cabinet meeting is headed 'Report from the Interim Corporate
Director of Communities & Regeneration'.
The Report has been signed off solely by 'ALICE LESTER Interim Corporate Director of Communities & Regeneration'.
A publicly accessible courtyard garden, in the centre of Brent Council's Cecil Avenue development, on the Council-owned former Copland School site, has been part of the plans from the beginning.
The image used for Appendix 1 of the Report to next Monday's Cabinet meeting actually comes from a document prepared by the original architects for this scheme, Karakusevic Carson Architects, titled "Proposed Courtyard View", and dated 26 July 2019. That document was submitted as part of Brent Council's planning application, which received full planning consent on 5 February 2021.
The Cecil Avenue scheme which received planning consent in 2021 was meant to provide 2000 square metres of play space, mainly for the residents of the 250 homes approved there, but also open to the general public, through an archway from Wembley High Road.
As I reported in a guest post last January, the scheme for this site has been downsized to 237 homes (of which 150 will be sold privately, and only 56 let to Council tenants at London Affordable Rent level), and the play space downsized to 1293sqm. See:
https://wembleymatters.blogspot.com/2024/01/wembley-housing-zone-brents-cecil.html
Despite the modest size of the courtyard garden, the Report to Cabinet proudly claims: 'The new publicly accessible courtyard will provide new open
space in an area of deficiency, supporting community wellbeing and quality of
life, with play spaces for children of all ages and abilities.'
But its modest size, and contribution to Wembley's open space needs, is put into perspective a couple of paragraphs later in the Report:
'Wembley is the borough’s largest growth area and a designated Greater
London Authority (GLA) Housing Zone, which is accommodating a significant
amount of new development. 6,000 new homes have been delivered in the past
5 years, and 15,000 new homes are expected by 2034. Rapid population
growth is generating increased need for social infrastructure, at the same time as pressure on existing infrastructure has increased.'
Says in this article "The council has said that the quick influx of new residents has meant a growing need for new ‘social infrastructure’, as well as putting huge pressure on the existing public spaces in the area."
Quick influx? Didn't Brent Council give all the planning permission for all these hundreds of new developments bringing all these new residents into the area???
And didn't they allow the new Ark Academy school to be built further back on what was public open space known as Coplands Fields? And didnt they then block off the rest of Coplands Fields so we can't use it? And now they are building this new development on the old Copland school site making out they are creating an extra new open space! 😠
https://harrowonline.org/2024/04/02/plans-for-new-11m-public-courtyard-garden-and-community-centre-in-wembley/
This must be another April Fool, I mean, Towerblock Tatler saying "a place where home ownership is a reality, not just a dream." and "prices are being pushed everywhere and house prices are now at their most unaffordable, relative to earnings since 1876."
Good try Martin, but we are not falling for it again.
This is a joke, surely?
Tatler declares this is "A Labour pledge met to continue using public assets for public good – balancing regeneration projects in the interests of the many in search of a new home, not the few that decry change."
Does she not understand that those who decry change are not all against development and new homes being built but they have to be the right new homes that people actually need - family homes where people can put down long term roots and help build community - we don't
need endless shoe boxes in the sky nor more student accomodation when there are no major colleges or universities in Brent.
I wonder if this will ever materialise. If you look at other schemes that were developed on what was "Public Land"?
Old Brent House now Wembley Place, 25O flats, was built with very little public space 20% below what was actually specified in the original plans, no water feature and a few area with hopscotch painted on tarmac and some odd childrens climbing/play structures. Originally it was quoted as being a "Public Piazza" a few benches outside Costa Coffee, and opposite an area currently hoarded off outside Sainsbury's Local, which also has had scaffolding all around the ground floor area's since being built, nearly 3 years on. On querying this I was told it was a Civil dispute with the Construction Company and the Landowners which is yet to be resolved. Which has left the area between Ark Elvin Academy and Elizabeth House being devoid of the new paving which is all along the rest of Wembley High Road, and the old paving now broken, uneven, and ripe for cases for compensation if anyone was to fall or trip.
The New Twin Towers (old Chesterfield House which housed School Services and Social Workers)now called "Uncle" at the junction of Park Lane and Wembley High Road was built a large space on the ground floor, designated for a "Community Centre" to service the residents that occupy 70 of the Social Housing flats and local residents. That never came to fruition as it was leased to the charity "Little Village" who's patron is the Princess of Wales. Also to the rear was supposed to be a community garden area with seating and landscaping which also has yet to be seen.
Talking about election year, we have Vistry "controlled" former Peel Precinct NW6 at build completion stage, a replacement public square with active frontages and a new centre piece primary heath care centre pledged ever since 2001 (the regeneration has in its 23 years closed two health centres and 2 GP surgeries located in this Brent car-free housing tall building zone so that in 2024 health facilities provision is currently at zero).
Wembley is future good plans and intentions, but at Peel it's the big moment of population growth key health and wellbeing support infrastructure actual delivery, yet here its developer silence.
You say this has "left the area between Ark Elvin Academy and Elizabeth House being devoid of the new paving which is all along the rest of Wembley High Road, and the old paving now broken, uneven, and ripe for cases for compensation if anyone was to fall or trip" - BUT further along Wembley High Road the expensive new paving is loose and creating trip hazards - one area around a drain cover has even been filled with tarmac! So Brent Council can't even maintain this new paving even though it cost a fortune and inconvenienced so many people when it was being put in with pavement and road closures!!!
Please don't think all is wonderful in Wembley - they can't even repaint the vitally important zebra crossings despite residents reporting the issue for months!
Does it mean 15000 new homes across Brent or in Wembley? By 2034
2003 there was funding for a Brent Junior League football pitch investment to be installed in South Kilburn Park. At consultation youth workers and council made its delivery all seem very plausible.
14 mature park trees were duly cut down and the pitch's costly underground drainage system was laid out and then grass covered.
Ever since, no junior football pitch has happened its just an open grassed area and the ghost of a junior league football pitch past, where discretionary 'wrong place'/'other ideas' has taken over in decision maker thoughts. This tall building zones woodland park area is for Local policies map discretion (not regional or national policies maps) a brownfield site speculate since 2010.
Developer here has no love of trees or football
Unless you flat is at Social Rent, No one afford to live in these flats without the help of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support.
With rents for 1 Bed Flats now £1550 per month, and 2 Bed Flats now £1800+. The average income of a Wembley Resident before tax is £25,000 where is the money coming from?
Well Brent Council just spend our money making Private Landlords wealthy, paying off their buy to let mortgages, whilst doing the bare minimum to meet decent housing standards. Housing Associations acting like Estate Agents with their Shared Ownership nonesense.
Yes Ms Towerblock Tatler your doing a great job NOT!!!
Why is Brent Council spending our SCIL monies on this when it was already included in the original planning permission? Why aren't Wates paying for it, and if they are paying something what is their contribution?
Surely everyone has by now realised that whatever lies are said to placate the general public to allow planning applications to go through without much objection is a smoke screen. And then Brent will not deliver on any so called promises as long as the private building s go up. Wonder who else apart from developers benefits financially!!!
Anon comment edited as contained a claim I cannot substantiate: "balancing regeneration projects in the interests of the many in search of a new home, not the few that decry change"
It's OK for Towerblock Tatler, she lives in a nice Metroland property in Kenton doesn't she?
Housing shortage? Tatler has taken it upon herself to solve Britain's housing shortage by building overpriced (rentals or purchased), properties (shoe boxes) for Foriegn Students, their dependants, and not forgetting the Foriegn Investors, and Footballers to name a few of our most deserving and important homeless groups.
Brent Council policy on housing is set out in the Borough Plan, adopted by Full Council. Brent's Cabinet is supposed to implement the Council's adopted policies.
In the latest Affordable Housing Update Report to Cabinet (11 December 2023) the policy was explained in simple terms: 'The borough plan sets out the Council’s ambition to provide safe, affordable housing for residents.' Every Cabinet member should understand that.
Genuinely affordable housing (or even just affordable housing) for rent is what the vast majority of people in housing need in our borough desperately want, especially those thousands on the Council's waiting list, and those being made homeless because they cannot afford exorbitant private rents.
Despite this, the Cabinet member for Regeneration has a different priority, writing in her "Foreword" to the Report that the Wembley Housing Zone, a Brent Council development on Brent Council-owned land, is 'an effort to build a better Brent, a place where home ownership is a reality, not just a dream.'
Cllr. Tatler's personal "Regeneration" policy goes against the Council's own Housing policy, and building homes on Council land for private sale (150 of these at Cecil Avenue!) is not the reality that Brent's housing crisis needs.
Surely the Council Leader realises this, but rather than replacing her in the Cabinet, he is prepared to support her actions, and even promote her to Deputy Leader. Why?
Following Monday's Cabinet meeting, Brent Council has (of course) issued a press release celebrating the decision to approve this expenditure - on facilities which were already part of the planning application which received consent in February 2021!
This is the Cabinet member "quote" from that press release:
'Councillor Shama Tatler, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning & Growth said:
“The economic regeneration of Wembley is clear for all to see, from the world-class Stadium to the re-developed public realm – thousands more Londoners now also call the area home, and the area is attracting more inward investment than ever before.
“This has been made possible thanks to long term planning and partnerships, leveraging resources, expertise and crucially, investment. Through the Wembley Housing Zone we have another opportunity to create another powerhouse, driving positive change along Wembley High Road.” '
I will leave any comments on that up to you!
More of our hard earned council tax down the drain 😞
Post a Comment