The Lighthouse
Wednesday's meeting of Brent Cabinet will be asked to support a proposal to tackle the long term problems of Neasden Town Centre, often known as Neasden Shopping Precinct through the Neasden Civic Partnership Programme.
They are asked to:
Approve up to £7.4m Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy capital funding to deliver public realm and highways infrastructure improvements in and around Neasden Town Centre.
Note a range of contracts for consultants and contractors will be required to design, plan and develop the proposed public realm, community programming and highways improvements for the Neasden Civic Partnership Programme.
Note and endorse the proposed installation of a temporary building for community use on top of the council-owned car park next to 237 Neasden Lane, subject to obtaining any planning permission, and any other statutory consents.
The proposal will aslo utilise a GLA Civic Partnership Programme grant of £3.1m the key aims of which are to:
Strengthen representation and authorship in physical regeneration
Delivering projects for and with the communities they serve, with a focus on local network capacity building and agency.
Expand the public realm
Creating open, high quality, connected and inclusive public spaces with good social and cultural infrastructure managed by cross-sector partners.
Address the climate and ecological emergencies
Strengthening London's climate resilience and tackling environmental inequalities.
Changes to the Eastern Gyratory, a longer term project, is by far the most costly part of the Programme.
1) Public Realm – Wayfinding for Neasden Town Centre and route to Neasden Underground Station and Neasden Stations Growth Area, with new signage, lighting, landscaping, public art; Green infrastructure for Neasden Town Centre: sustainable urban drainage system, pocket forest trees and low-level planting.
2) Community Programming – Meanwhile Lighthouse : demountable two storey metal structure with access stairs and tower signage, internal first floor fit out, for workspace and community uses, installed on top of LBB- owned car park.
3) Eastern Gyratory – reconfiguration, new access road, pavement, crossings, lighting and street furniture, to define and open up the gateway to Neasden Town Centre, improve access to The Grange open space, improve the route to Neasden Underground Station and Neasden Stations Growth Area.
Cllr Leader Muhammed Butt, now also the Lead Member for Housing, Regeneration and Planning writes a Lead Member Foreword to the Report:
Neasden Town Centre has struggled with the legacy of major highways infrastructure interventions, and more recently in responding to the impacts of the pandemic and cost of living crisis. To support Neasden’s growth and vitality, Brent Council designated it as one of our Priority Town Centres and since that time a number of studies have been delivered to identify ways to improve connectivity, accessibility, and safety within the area. Brent Council working with the Mayor of London engaged local residents, businesses and communities to develop the Neasden Town Centre Action Plan, which sets an ambitious vision to put Neasden Town Centre back on the map. Additional investment is now required to unlock Neasden's potential and deliver meaningful change that stands the test of time
With the upcoming development planned for the Neasden Stations Growth Area, it is essential that we put the right level of infrastructure in place so that new and existing communities alike can benefit from this regeneration and growth. Infrastructure to improve connectivity, accessibility, safety, community cohesion and to tackle the climate emergency are long welcomed by all. Neasden won’t be left behind because of the mistakes made in the past.
Brent Council is unashamedly pro-growth, and alongside other councils we’ve also continued to call for the infrastructure necessary for the West London Orbital railway to stop at Neasden. But as with any change, we must ensure our diverse residents, businesses and communities can participate and share in the benefits of growth. Young people in particular need more support. Gang activities remain troublingly prevalent in the Neasden area and have impacted residents for far too long. Initiatives that can help young people engage and connect to better opportunities will be fundamental to a brighter future for all of our communities. Where we put back pride in an entire neighbourhood, we hope only good things can follow.
The Neasden Civic Partnership Programme will re-establish the socioeconomic and environmental links that have been lost between the historic town centre and its local communities, in order that both existing and new communities will find in Neasden a place where everyone can belong and thrive.
This will take time, but this council is determined to see this change through.
Can Neasden, the butt of many a Private Eye joke recover some pride, dignity and success?
Below are extracts from the 169 page Action Plan whuch you can find HERE:
2. A Moveable Feast
4. The Lighthouse
5. Visual Identity and Wayfaring
MEDIUM TERM PROPOSALS
LONGER TERM PROPOSALS
Before much of this goes ahead there are issues to be dealt with as shown in the Risk Assessment:
16 comments:
This is brilliant. I am proud of Cllr Butt transforming Brent for the better!!
Thank god Dollis Hill has good local cllrs. this is a good legacy.
Pedestrianise it every day for ever
Seeing is believing, if the powers that be take as much time as it took to set up SK re-development and it still isn't right, god help us, it won't happen in my life time.
Wouldn't this be the THIRD TIME in less than 20 years. And here's another one, just like the other one. Yes, residents' money down the drain.
Is not Santander Bank building being taken over by another betting Establishment - that does not seem a good start for Neasden.
Close both ends put a pocket park in the middle
How much CIL has Neasden contributed that it is getting all this money? Can other areas across Brent - equally neglected for years - expect similar investment? Is it intended to use sensible materials for the public realm improvements that can easily be repaired or replaced - not as happened in Wembley where the £3 million pavements already look shabby and a mess after just 3 years after being put down.
Don't let developer promises to fund improvements to infrastructure fool you - see here...
"Every NIMBY'S worst nightmare: How developer building 6,000 new homes in Kent has now REFUSED to build £50m infrastructure including roads and school"
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14221449/NIMBY-developer-homes-Kent-build-50m-infrastructure-roads-school.html
More money towards Brent cleaning, parking and policing. This is ridiculous, bring back the library or a youth center and perhaps lower our council tax.
Stop this nonsense and reduce our council tax.
Good to see Brent strategic planners thinking about how car free towers of houses Brent Mega City lives, moves, connects, stays green, healthy and is equitable supported and resourced in terms of its intense population growth. Highest density tenanted towers does not have to be 'the worse the better' bad growth exclude local people, a political change of heart finally perhaps
with Brent towers of houses highest quality infrastructured from 2025 to 2050 and beyond?
Why would anyone spend £850K on a new bulld leasehold flat when (a) you could buy a freehold house with a garden with that money and (b) when the flats are so badly built that you have all these problems meaning you can't sell it???
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14266445/newbuild-flat-cracked-walls-leaks-collapsing-ceilings-worthless-uninsurable.html
Is Neasden in the former borough of Wembley (which has public rights of way council map with definitive statement) or in former borough of Willesden (which has no public rights of way council map or definitive statement legal protection of its PROW's)?
Unjust movement rights/ wayfinding inequity this given that entire Brent has car-free 'towers of houses' in population growth zones building.
"Spain is planning to impose a tax of up to 100% on the value of properties bought by non-residents from countries outside the EU, such as the UK.
Announcing the move, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the "unprecedented" measure was necessary to meet the country's housing emergency.
"The West faces a decisive challenge: To not become a society divided into two classes, the rich landlords and poor tenants," he said."
BBC News - Spain plans 100% tax for homes bought by non-EU residents - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7enzjrymxo
So when will the UK wake up and stop foreign investors buying UK properties??? Developers are building to meet the needs of foreign investors rather than building proper homes for families 😞
I know its a pessimistic view but this is very unlikely to be successful.. One of the biggest issues in Neasden is large groups of men street drinking. How will this be tackled by this investment? Look at whats already happened in Kilburn High road - where the council have installed new paving, benches and flower bed.. before the very modest programme is even completed the benches have been stolen, the flower beds are full of old mattresses and the paving is absolutely filthy.. Why? two reasons - 1) poverty (this also applies in Neasden) and 2) lack of policing, planning enforecment, streen cleaning and other services to keep the area looking good and instilling a sense of pride..
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