31 and 18 storey blocks application for site of CNWL college on Olympic Way

The view across Bridge Road yesterday. The 8 storey CNWL buidling is obscured by a tree

As the proposed buildings will look if approved 

Plans have been published for the development of the site of the College of North West London's Wembley Park site. The development is part of a three phase project which will see Wembley Park and Dudden Hill campuses moving into a new college building further down Olympic Way on the site of the building that was previously the head office of Network Housing. The extensive Dudden Hill (College Green) site will be redeveloped for housing some of which will also be highrise. See those proposals HERE.

The land is owned by United Colleges Group, the result of a merger between CNWL and City Westminster College and property rationalisation has been a strategy from the start. The decision on the Wembley Park and College Green development swill be made by Brent Council Planning Committee. In 2019 Brent Council granted a £50m bridging loan to United Colleges to facilitate the move to a new Wembley Park campus. LINK

 The Hill Group who are managing both applications calim that the Wembley Park site will provide 307 homes in two towers (18 storey and 31 storey) and College Green 1,627 homes. Together comprising 84% of the London Plan requirement of Brent Council. LINK

On the Wembley Park site they state 30% of the 'habitable rooms' will be at social rent and 100% affordable. However, the habitable room measure is a slippery concept and not the same as affordable homes as a percentage of the total. I have asked for clarification as elsewhere there is a reference to shared ownership as affordable - which we know it is not.

As the illustration shows there is a big impact on the view along Olympic Way although the proposal claims it does not interrupt the view of the stadium arch. It is certainly the first thing that will hit you looking from Wembley Park station towards the stadium and much more signicant  than the 8 storey CNWL building.

The Wealdstone Brook flows through the site. The present building is raised from ground level (as is Michaela on the other side of Olympic Way) as flood protection, so it is surprising to find that basements are planned for the new buildings. Retail, cafe or community uses are planned at ground level.

The present college building and Wealdstone Brook

The Wealdstone Brook flows through the site and beneath Olympic Way

The one storey temporary Black Sheep Coffee shop on Olympic Way  has recently been granted an extension to 2026 but the plans retain flexibility with the possibility of opening up the site where it faces Olympic Way if the Black Sheep goes.

The Black Sheep  now and after

 

Vehicle access to the site will be via Wembley Park Drive as at present but the development itself will be car free given its proximity to the station. Readers will note the Wembley Stadium Retail Park buildings on the right of the picture. The Retail Park, McDonalds and Troubadour Theatre (Fountain Studios) are another development site which will comprise 995 housing units in several towers.

On the image, below taken from the 2019 planning application, the CNWL building is bottom left corner. Now substitute an eighteen storey and a 31 storey block to see the scope of that development and the overall context on Bridge Road/Wembley Hill Road.

Finally it is good to see that the application includes a Whole Life Cycle  Carbon Assessment (albeit incomplete) and includes some mitigations to reduce carbon impact. LINK.

So far there have been no public comments on the proposal on the Brent Council Planning Portal Reference 24/1841 LINK