Wembley Park planning application to build 31 storey and 18 storey building on Olympic Way college site to be heard at Planning Committee next week

 

The new buildings from Bobby Moore Bridge (Bridge Road opposite station)

The College of North West London building that will be demolished

 

 In 2017 I predicted that the merger of the College of North West London and City of Westminster College as United  Colleges would lead to deals involving their property portfolio but I rather underestimated the extent of change that this would involve. Will property deals follow CNWL and CWC merger?

In Brent the plan involve the sale of both College of North West London College sites (Wembley Park's Crescent House and Dudden Hill's College Park) for housing development with  the profit funding a new college building on Olympic Way/Fulton Road. This was  given planning permission in July 2023 on the site of the Olympic Office Centre, formerly the HQ of Network Housing.

 

New Wembley Park Campus building

Brent Council was involved via a loan given to United Colleges to help set up the deal. CNWL has already sold its Kilburn site and sold its other Wembley Park building to the Education Funding Agency to provide accommodation for Michaela School.

If your head is spinning perhaps this explanation from Brent Planning Officers will help:

Officers have carefully weighed up the conclusions drawn by the viability assessment and the policy requirement for the delivery the new college facility in order to enable the release these two sites for development. Officers also have attached weight to the benefits associated with the delivery of the new college. Officers consider that the inter-relationship between these two schemes and the delivery of the new college facility is material to the consideration of this application, and a Section 106 obligation will prevent the implementation of these two applications unless the construction of the new College building is going ahead.

 

It is therefore considered reasonable and appropriate for the Council to place weight on the financial contribution that the sale of these two sites will make towards the delivery of the new college building and officers have also evaluated the scheme on this basis. However, it is for the decision maker to determine what weight should be applied to the facilitating role that the sale of these sites play in the delivery of the new college facility.

 

Officers consider that this should be given substantial weight given that the new college facility cannot be delivered without the sale of these sites to the College, not only for financial reasons (as the sale is required to fund the college) but also for planning policy and legal reasons (as Section 106 obligations will prevent the implementation of these two applications, if approved, unless the new college facility is going ahead).

This is rather a lot of pressure on Planning Committee to agree the application, particularly as Brent Council helped facilitate the deal.

The impact of the 18 and 31 storey building on the views from Wembley Park Station and Bridge Road is enormous. It will loom in front of the more distant views along Olympic Way to the stadium as well as from vehicles travelling between Wembley Central and Wembley Park.

 

 The problem will the piecemeal approval of the various Wembley Park applications is that the wider context is not always evident. For example the view below doesn't show the tower blocks under construction at Wembley Park station  along Brook Road, opposite the proposed buildings. In the illustration you can barely see the station itself.

 

The pink buildings in the illustrations are buildings in the pipeline for the approved Fulton Quarter. This the area behind the college building made up of the Stadium Retail Park, McDonalds and the Troubadour Theatre. LINK

The Fulton Quarter will provide 995 homes.

I have tried to show the overall impact by roughly placing the two towers in context below. The numbers refer to the number of storeys in each block.

 

 The viability assessment referred to in the officers' remarks is about how much affordable housing can be supplied and still give the developer a return. The officers make the figures at Wembley Park more palatable by combining the two ex-college sites:

The affordable units classed as intermediate by officers are shared ownership. Not affordable for most Brent residents and the Council itself is aware of the product's shortcomings. See LINK.
 

It is surprising given the magnitude of this application that the Brent Planning Portal LINK states only 6 comments have been received. The only comment actually shown is from Ilford:

I object to this planning application for these two buildings of 18 and 31 storeys in height for various social, environmental, public health and fire safety reasons. For example Wembley has now seen more than enough high density housing schemes in recent years that has put an overall strain on local social infrastructure. Also the townscape has been greatly changed which has had an inevitable effect upon local heritage around here too. This particular housing scheme is also being funded by a private building firm so therefore these flats are highly unlikely to be genuinely affordable to local residents. Fire safety has to be another major consideration in planning terms especially with the tower block fires that we have seen across Greater London in recent years as well.

The application for the Dudden Hill College Green CNWL site will also be heard at the Planning Committee next week, December 11th. I will review that later. LINK

 

Christmas at Chalkhill Saturday December 7th 12-4

 

Brent's Community Infrastructure Levy funds at record levels but without government policy change unavailable to offset planned £16m cuts

 

SCIL: Strategic Infrastructure Levy NCIL: Neighbourhood Infrastrure Levy

The latest Brent Infrastructure Funding Statement showing how Brent Council has used the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)  in 2023-24 strengthenss the case for relaxation of the restrictions on spending of the funds raised. £143m of Strategic CIL remains unspent and £15.5m of Neighbourhood CIL. 

The Council's 2025-2026 proposes £16m of cuts to council services.

Strategic CIL cannot be used currently for the day to day running of the Council. The Lead Member for Finance in her Forward to the report states that the current shortage of funds for that provision can only be addressed by the Government increasing local government funding.

However, following a suggestion made by Liberal Democrat councillor, Anton Georgiou, Cllr Muhammed Butt and Cllr Shama Tatler have written to the Government LINK calling for more flexibility regarding CIL spending to relieve some of the pressure in the short term:

Easing restrictions does not mean abandoning fiscal responsibility, rather adapting to current realities and the challenges councils are facing. Councils can still practice sound financial management while using CIL more flexibly. Establishing clear guidelines and accountability for the use of CIL funds would ensure that the funds are used effectively and responsibly.

The figures speak for themselves:

 

CIL spending and allocation:

 

Neighbourhood CIL allocations and spend are reported in the Brent Infrastructure Funding Report and too detailed to include here but well worth reviewing. See LINK. 

Overview of area spending

 In addition to CIL Brent can also raise money through Section 106 agreements with developers and these have become significant particularly in housing. Again there is a significant amount of money unspent in the fund:

 

 

 

 

 301 'affordable units' were secured through Section 106 but only four were social rent:

Strategic CIL to be used for new Kilburn Primary School building and Open Space improvements: some associated issues.

Current site

 Proposed

 

 Proposed in wider context

 

It has been no secret that in the past there has been resistance by the neighbouring South Kilburn schools, Carlton Vale Infant School and Kilburn Park Foundation School (a junior school), to amalgamation. However, they have recently been operating as a Federation with some joint management and leadership.

Now Brent Council has come forward with plans to build a new combined school building on the existing  Carlton Vale Infant site (KVI) and Kilburn Park School Foundation (KPFS). The demolished KPFS site would be incorporated into an improved South Kilburn Open Space.

The proposal before Cabinet on Monday December 9th is:

Approves the use of £12.9m of SCIL funding, for the construction of a 1 Form Entry primary school with a nursery and the infrastructure to expand to a 2FE school (including decanting of Carlton Vale Infant school to Kilburn Park Junior school and the associated building works), as part of South Kilburn Regeneration Programme.

 Approves the use of £4.4 m of SCIL funding, for the enhancement of the South Kilburn Open Space, as part of the South Kilburn Regeneration Programme. 

Given the difficulties facing the delivery (and viability) of the remaining housing schemes on South Kilburn the proposal, by using £17.3m of Strategic CIL, removes any funding through the regeneration.

As a Foundation school Kilburn Park has possession of its land and will have to agree a land transfer to Brent Council. Brent Council once in possession will have to request permission from the Department for Education to use the land for non-educational purpose, namely the improvement of the open space.

There is a potential fly in the ointment here because Islamia Primary is still looking for a site following an eviction order from the Islam Yusuf Foundation. The Strathcona site as an alternative was overwhelmingly rejected by parents. A potential school building will be standing empty and available before demolition. Islamia could appeal to the DfE not to release the land for non-educational purposes.

Both CVI and KPSF are operating well below capacity. The latest figures I have managed to find are CVI 56 pupils out of a capacity of 230, and KPFS 66 out of a capacity of 240. As a result the LA is proposing a one form entry school (30 per year group) and a 26 place nursery. In addition however, the build will include infrastructure for expansion to 2 forms of entry if required when demand increases as a result of the regeneration, but importantly the officers' report (rather puzzlingly) states:

20. It should be noted that should the need arise for the new school to expand to a 2FE school in the future, there is no provision in this proposal to cover these costs.

The  regeneration so far does not appear to have  resulted in much of an increase in the rolls of the two schools despite Good Ofsted report. If future housing tenure is aimed at young professionals rather than families the anticipated demand may not materialise.

This brings us to another issue. Brent Council has a School Places Strategy that deals with falling numbers in primary schools in some areas of the borough, with amalgamations and federations, and potential closures as part of the solution. Because school funding is based on the number of pupils, falling numbers impact on the school budget. As argued in some recent discussions this impacts in turn on the capacity of the school to employ the full range of staff to offer a broad and balanced curriculum and SEND support.

The officers' report sees a glowing role and future for the new school:

15. The school will not only support the educational needs of the growing population but will also act as a catalyst for community cohesion, social mobility, and local economic growth, linking directly to the wider regeneration goal.

    The new school will not only replace outdated facilities but will create a modern, efficient educational environment that meets the needs of South Kilburn’s children now and in the future. It aims to provide top-tier educational facilities at the heart of the community, fostering community cohesion and improving life chances for residents.

The officers' report does not see an early increased demand for places and discounts the Islamia interest:

 The modelling exercise [ ] identified that there would be sufficient capacity over the next five years (the 2027/2028 academic year) to meet projected need if a one form of entry primary school replaced CVI and KPJ schools, taking into account the likely relocation of Islamia Primary School away from the area.

Development of a two-form entry school would likely lead to spare places in the area which would not be an efficient use of resources. However, in the longer term given the level of planned regeneration, it was felt prudent to design options that would allow the new primary school to be relatively easily expanded to a 2 FE school should the need arise.

 However the new school will not be occupied until 2029, after that period, according to the timeline. Will a 2 form need be apparent by then and additional work needed?:

 

There are no design details of the new school as yet but it may well be a similar to the pre-assembled Wembley Manor SEND school in London Road. LINK

Proposals for the improvement of the  South Kilburn Open Space are promising at this stage:

28. The proposed landscape strategy of the South Kilburn open space includes ecological enhancements and activation of the open space through a network of safe routes, creating opportunities to bring together new and existing residents of South Kilburn. The proposed improvements include new cycle and pedestrian connections, a new multi-activity area, youth space, gym trail, woodland play area and earthworks, enhanced biodiversity, community orchard, and growing space, and a proposed community pavilion that can accommodate community space and café. Officers within the Parks Service have commented on the design proposals, to ensure ease of maintenance and community benefit.