WEMBLEY MATTERS: Time for residents and visitors, and especially young people, to be seen and heard over hotel plans for Wembley Park public space

Monday, 2 February 2026

Time for residents and visitors, and especially young people, to be seen and heard over hotel plans for Wembley Park public space

Proposed hotel development from the stadium steps side of Engineers Way

I had heard that Quintain had advertised their plans to build a new hotel in the Samovar Space/Market Square at the site so I popped down on a very chilly afternoon to see for myself.

I searched around Market Square and found nothing, then spied this, in the distance on the edge of the Samovar Space:

Close up it was a rather tatty notice with a QR code to Quintain's presentation:

And that was it - there were no other notices or indications of the plans that Quintain expect to submit to Brent Council planners in February or March. No wonder Wembley Park residents are protesting and launched a petition which so far has over 200 signatures. (SEE THE PETITION HERE).

I talked to the few people who had braved the cold (although more young people would be there after school) and despite sitting close to the notice while supervising their children had no idea about what was planned and were quite shocked to find out.

The Samovar Space is past its best as Quintain took down the Shell Performance Stage and other bits and pieces and the play area has not been repainted, but the potential for a space in the centre of Wembley Park can still be seen. Only a much smaller area will be left if the hotel is built. All photographs were taken about 3pm this afternoon.

When the Samovar Space was installed great play was made of the involvement of young people inits design when their voices are often not heard in major developments.

Julian Tollast, Head of Masterplanning and Design, Quintain, welcoming an Award for the Samovar Project, said:

It is a sad fact that young people are often overlooked when it comes to the built environment. With this in mind, we are extremely proud of the work we have done, and are continuing to do, via Seen & Heard to make Wembley Park and the wider area a more welcoming place for all. To succeed at these awards and represent not only the Borough of Brent but London as well was an honour for all involved.

In this case it seems it is not just young people who are not being 'Seen and Heard' but Wembley Park residents and visitors.

What a contrast to the optimism of just over 2 years ago as demonstrated by this video: