Brent Council offer up to £25k to reactivate local shops in Church End, Neasden and Willesden town centres

 From Brent Council

Brent Council is on the hunt for landlords in targeted areas across the borough who would like to sign up to a regeneration scheme that aims to bring empty shops back into long-term use.

 

The council have launched a new pilot scheme to reactivate empty premises on local high streets and support local businesses. Vacant space activators Meanwhile Space have been contracted to deliver the scheme, and are working with Brent Council to engage landlords, offering grants of up to £25,000 for shop improvements.

 

The scheme aims to reactivate 3-6 empty shops in targeted areas of Church End, Neasden and Willesden Green town centres. Landlords have been contacted with details of the initiative and invited to make an application for their shop, with a closing deadline of Sunday 18^th April 2021. Improvements will be made to each successful vacant premises up to the sum of £25,000 per unit.

 

The pilot scheme will support local businesses in need of a premises but unable to take on a full lease, or who may struggle to pay rent on town centre premises. The pilot scheme will provide an opportunity for these businesses to develop a sustainable business model in the medium and long term with the aim of going on to rent a high street unit on commercial rates.

 

Alan Lunt, Strategic Director for Regeneration & Environment at Brent Council, said:

 Our businesses and high streets have taken a big hit from the pandemic and now is the time to look for opportunities to turn that around and build back a better Brent for businesses and residents. Through activation of empty shops we hope to stimulate long-term demand for space in the area and support the economic recovery of our neighbourhoods.

 

Details of the scheme and opportunity for landlords can be found at

https://www.brent.gov.uk/your-community/regeneration/cu rrent-projects/meanwhile-pilot-scheme/

Brent Council announces 'Days of Action' in areas worst affected by Covid19 to reinforce rules

Brent Council Press Release (unedited)

Some of the areas worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Brent will receive additional support, as part of the Keep Brent Safe initiative.

A team of council officers made up of staff from across a range of services, including enforcement officers, will be out and about to remind individuals of the social distancing rules, hand out free ‘Keep Brent Safe’ face coverings and ensure businesses and individuals are complying with restrictions.

The teams will be in Church End on Wednesday 7 October, Harlesden Town Centre on Thursday 8 October and Ealing Road on Friday 9 October.

Brent’s Cabinet Member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure Councillor Neil Nerva said:

I want to thank everyone in the borough for continuing to do their bit to keep Brent safe.  The vast majority of individuals and businesses have made big sacrifices to comply with the rules to protect themselves, and their loved ones. However, we know that some people still need more information and support – which will be provided by our teams across these days of action.

Where individuals and businesses continue to refuse to follow the rules, more serious enforcement could take place including escalating situations to the Police.

Businesses that are putting individuals at risk by not following the rules can be reported to the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 or by emailing trading.standards@brent.gov.uk  

Large gatherings should be reported to Brent’s Community Safety team by calling 0208 937 1058 or emailing community.safety@brent.gov.uk

Residents are invited to share their own local initiatives, that are providing support to individuals during the pandemic, using #BrentTogether on social media.

Action promised on BAME access to GPs as Brent's Covid19 response comes under scrutiny

Melanie Smith, Brent Director of Public Health, told last night's Community and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee that during the early months of the Covid19 pandemic many in Brent's BAME community felt disempowered and lacking in agency. Lessons had been learnt and Brent had realised the importance of engaging with the many different BAME communities in Brent and their community leaders. They had concentrated on Alperton and Church End which had the highest number of cases.  Messages had to be consistent and make sense to the communities concerned, for example over shielding in multi-generational households.

Confirming that access to primary healthcare was a major issue, Cllr Abdi Aden, who is of Somali background, said that many in the community who had been feeling sick had problems making appointments with their GP.  They had waited for hours in a queue at the medical centre only to give up and go home without receiving any help.

Cllr Mary Daly backed up the claim. Chair of the Committee, Cllr Ketan Sheth, interjected to say that many in the BAME community still suffered from a poor GP offer.

Dr MC Patel, chair of Brent CCG and NW London NHS lead on inequalities, offered to go with Cllr Aden to the surgery to address the issue of practices not affording access. He said unnecessary denial of access should not be tolerated.  He offered to talk to groups of 5 or so from the community to listen to their experiences and take action. 

Government guidelines recently issued should mean more face to face appointments with GPs rather than on-line arrangements which discriminated against those without internet access or lacking in English language,

Earlier in the discussion the high rate of BAME Covid deaths initially had been attributed to people not going to their GPs early enough. A speaker from Brent Healthwatch said that many residents had been hesitant about going to Northwick Park Hospital and were wary about getting infected there. Cllr Janice Long asked if late admissions to hospital was the cause of the higher death rate in Brent. She pointed out that there was only one medical centre in hard-hit Church End and asked what was being done to encourage people to go to their GP.

Cllr Ahmad Shahzad pointed out the structural issues affecting the BAME community including lack of opportunity and poor housing and said the death toll must not happen again - the Council had to safeguard the population. He said Public Health England and the BMA had been side-lined by the government.

Dr MC Patel said Brent CCG and NW London NHS were looking at devising an additional shielding list for Brent, that would include more people than the government list, and give them appropriate advice. The initial list did not include ethnicity as a factor and experience of the first wave means more needs to be done to include the BAME community, especially those with underlying conditions. Once offered it would be up to the individuals concerned to decide whether to be included in the vulnerable list.

Recently elected councillor, Gaynor Lloyd, said the elephant in the room was whether people would isolate as a consequence of being included in the list. She expressed doubt about a proposal to educate landlords about Covid19 and the risks stating, 'we all know about some landlords.'

 Dr MC Patel said that this was an opportunity for the local authority and health to work together. Joint work and shared commitment were necessary to make things happen and for 'Brent to do it differently.' He cited the response on care homes as being one example of success and said local hospitals had done well.  There was now a clear message to GPs to see patients face to face if that is what they wanted and the CCG were also looking at hot hubs for Covid patients.  It was a matter of 'making the best of what we've got.'

Simon Crawford of NW London Hospital Trust said that the emergency pathway at Northwick Park Hospital was now 85% of the pre-Covid level. Segregated pathways at A&E meant there were clear pathways for non-Covid patients. Presently there were 12 Covid patients in the hospital, a slight increase compared with 8 or so recently.  Patients' temperatures were taken when they first entered the hospital. Patients due for an operation were tested 3 days before the operation was due.  He emphasised, 'We are open for business. If you have an appointment, keep to it!'

He said that Northwick Park had been the busiest hospital in London at the peak and had been supported by other hospitals There had been positive coverage recently and they had been innovative in going with oxygen treatment rather than ventilating machines.  He said that Northwick Park had never run out of oxygen, contrary to reports.

The Trust has signed private sector contracts with Clementine Hospital and the London Clinic. Cancer referrals that had dropped by 50% were now coming back.

Cllr Neal Nerva, recently appointed to the Cabinet as lead member for Public Health, Culture and Leisure, said he was going to introduce a political dimension into the discussion.  Testing had become a matter of private competition and local government had been side-lined. Cllr Shahzad had been right about Public Health England being side-lined and there was also the failings of Test, Track and Trace.

Despite this, he said, the Council could not stand back, too many people were at risk in Brent.  He expressed confidence in the NHS and said people need to be seeking help for non-Covid conditions. The Alperton and Church End meetings showed the need for a wider Brent policy on social distancing and engaging with BAME communities.  Structural issues such as Housing, jobs, co-morbidities, learning for the Covid19 experience, would feed into the Council's new Health and Wellbeing Strategy.

All in all it was a useful discussion, although much more needs to be investigated and acted upon. The trio of councillors, Daly, Long and Lloyd, looked particularly effective as scrutineers.

Uncovering the history of Church End and Chapel End, Willesden – Part 3

The final part of this local history series by Margaret Pratt. (Thank you very much for this series Margaret which has aroused a lot of interest.  I hope to publish more about the history of our various Brent communities)

Last week, in Part 2, we looked at local landmark buildings, many from the 19^th century. In this final part we move to the 20^th century, especially the industrial development of the area.

Before the First World War, Church End and Chapel End had many small workshops and businesses which depended on the reliance on horse power, in agriculture, and in everyday life in the village. Stablemen, grooms, blacksmiths and farriers, suppliers of horse-drawn vehicles, saddles and tack were all living and working in the area. Gradually the horse was overtaken by the motor vehicle, and businesses had to adapt. 

Many coachbuilders and blacksmiths reinvented themselves and opened garages and motor engineering works, using the skills they had already learned. Other small-scale industries included stonemasons, sawmills, cycle makers, shoemakers, and printers, who were established in the area from the 1880s onwards.

1. 20th century industrial developments, added to a sketch map of the district based on the 1895 O.S. map.

Church End had large areas of land which had not been sold for housebuilding, unlike Willesden Green (where terraces of small houses filled most of the farmland). These local fields were opened up by companies such as British Thomson-Houston, the electrical engineering firm. In 1913 BTH built its workshops on the cricket field, north of St. Mary’s vicarage, starting the area’s industrialisation. This continued after the war, when jobs for the returning soldiers were in short supply, and large-scale industries began to fill the gaps.

British Thomson-Houston was a subsidiary of the American General Electric Company. They had opened a factory in Rugby in 1899, making electric lamps, turbines and electrical systems. Their Willesden plant specialised in switch-gear equipment, (a collection of circuit breakers, fuses and switches, needed to control electrical systems). By 1919 it employed 462 people.

2. Aerial view of the British Thomson-Houston factory in Neasden Lane, 1953. (Brent Archives image 2409)

Before and during the Second World War, the factory diversified, producing lighting, radio and signalling equipment for the Royal Navy, and helping the RAF’s success in the Battle of Britain with their magnetos, compressors and starting switches. In 1949, around 2,000 people were working at its Church End factory.

3. Two scenes from the Dallmeyer optical works, c.1910. (Brent Archives online images 2711 and 2718)

J.H. Dallmeyer, makers of optical instruments and precision lenses, was founded by a German immigrant in 1860. The company first came to Denzil Road, Church End, from Central London in 1907, moving to Willesden High Road in 1920, and building extensions to their works in 1945 and 1952. By 1979 the business employed around 90 people, manufacturing high-precision optical products, hopefully in more comfortable conditions than in the early years! It was taken over by a larger company in the 1980s, but Dallmeyer lenses are still highly collectable.

4. A Dallmeyer advertisement for one of their photographic lenses, 1914. (Image from the internet)

Next to Dallmeyers was Chromoworks, high class printers and lithographers. The lithographers had an unusual assignment after World War Two. The Directors of Lyons Tea Shops wanted to spruce up their premises, but decorating materials were in short supply. They commissioned famous artists to produce paintings of post-war Britain, to be made into poster-sized prints, at Chromoworks. 

The prints were large enough to cover as much of the shabby decor as possible. Three series of prints were produced, from work by Lowry, John Piper, Edward Bawden, John Nash, and many others, 40 artists in all. The scheme was a great success, and the prints appeared in Lyons tea shops all over Britain. They were also on sale to the public, and provided Chromoworks with plenty of work from 1946 to 1955. The prints are still collectors’ items, and have been shown in art exhibitions. 

       5. A Lyons Tea Shop with prints on its walls, and a lithograph of Shopping in Mysore by Edward      Ardizzone. (Images from the internet - © the Towner Collection)

The land occupied by Church End Paddocks was purchased by Messrs Park and Ward, in 1919, for their Park Ward coachbuilding business. Despite Henry Ford’s assembly line method for making motor cars in America, many British cars, especially for wealthy drivers, were still built to individual designs on a manufacturer’s chassis. Below are before and after views, showing a drophead coupé sports car built on an MG chassis at the Park Ward works in 1936.  In 1939, the business was sold to Rolls Royce, who had been a major customer. It traded as their Mulliner Park Ward Division, an important employer in Willesden until the 1980s. 

 6. Before and after photographs, showing the coachbuilding skills of Park Ward, 1936. (Images from internet)

On the Cobbold Estate with Rolls Royce were several other manufacturing concerns. The Adelphi Works, of Heaton Tabb & Co, were famous for luxury decorating and furnishing, used in passenger liners, hotels and restaurants. Nearby were the Trojan Works, and the North London Engineering Company, producing bus and heavy goods vehicle bodies.

7. A Heaton Tabb advertisement from 1936, listing Willesden as one of their workshops. (From the internet)

With the need for local skilled workers, Willesden Technical College opened in 1934 at Denzil Road, off Dudden Hill Lane. The College provided courses formerly taught at the Polytechnic in Kilburn, and also included courses in art and building. In 1964, the College took over the buildings of Dudden Hill Lane school, on the corner of Cooper Road, one of Willesden's wonderful three-decker Board Schools, built in the early 20th century.

The sites became part of the College of North West London in 1991. The new Telford building, in Denzil Road, opened in 2009. The Edison building in Dudden Hill Lane was demolished in 2015, now replaced by state-of-the-art facilities for technology education, from access courses, BTECH and GCSE, to foundation degrees and other Higher Education qualifications. Around 8000 students presently attend courses there.

8. An aerial view of Willesden Technical College, Denzil Road, 1930s. (From “The Willesden Survey – 1949”)

Cliff Wadsworth, a Willesden local history expert, attended 'The Tech' between 1951 and 1954. He remembers that his walk to Denzil Road in the morning was accompanied by the sound of a blacksmith’s hammer, clanging away in the smithy on Dudden Hill. How times have changed!

Church End was one of four Willesden districts where heavy industry was prevalent. The others were Park Royal, Cricklewood and Kilburn. By 1936, Church End was almost wholly industrial. In 1937, Willesden as a whole was described as “the largest manufacturing borough in Britain.” 14% of Willesden’s population were employed at Church End and Chapel End by 1939.

9. Map showing where in Willesden people were willing to move from to a New Town. (Willesden Survey 1949)

After the war, the Greater London Plan of 1950 recognised the over-industrialisation and poor housing conditions of areas such as Church End and Chapel End. It proposed moving some firms and their employees to a New Town, being developed at Hemel Hempstead. The Willesden Survey of 1949 had found that 49% of Willesden’s entire population would be willing to move immediately (36% out of London), if housing and employment were available. They would expect wages of at least £5 per week, wanted a 3-bedroom house (preferably detached) and expected to pay rent of between £1 and 24 shillings a week for this.

     10. Two ladies (from Willesden?) chatting in Hemel Hempstead New Town, 1954. (From the internet)

Many skilled people, particularly younger workers and their families, were persuaded to move. In all, twenty-six firms, employing 5,000 workers, moved out of Willesden, including to other New Towns, such as Harlow, Stevenage and Welwyn Garden City. The vacated factory sites and workshops were given over to warehouses, retail outlets, trading area, builders merchants, and other non-manufacturing concerns. 

British Thomson-Houston remained in Willesden into the 1960s, with its name changed to GEC.AEI, but was suffering from falling sales. Hansard records a speech in Parliament on 28 February 1969, by Laurie Pavitt, the MP for Willesden West:

‘I raise this matter affecting 1,100 families in my constituency, namely the proposed closure of GEC.AEI switchgear factory, Neasden Lane, Willesden. What can be done to keep it going? I am aware that the industry is facing a falling market, yet the Willesden factory managed to increase its share from 10% to15%, in 1968. There should be recognition for their efforts. The problem is that there have been 5,187 redundancies and 37 factories in Willesden completely closed down. Many valuable teams of skilled workers will be dispersed and uprooted. This is a fine factory. It is a gem of a factory. It is an asset for the nation ....’

Sadly, even Mr. Pavitt's eloquence could not prevent the factory’s closure in the early 1970s.

By the 1950s, the streets on the west side of Church Road, between Craven Park and Neasden Lane, were deemed fit for redevelopment. The Council purchased properties from 1963, and work began in the 1970s. Large houses at the Craven Park end were swept away first, and Church Road was widened into a dual carriageway, and carried straight on to a roundabout at the Neasden Lane junction, near St Mary's Church. The north end of Church Road remained, curving right towards the White Hart Public House.

11. “Resiform" flats on the 1970s Church End Estate. (From Flickr, on the internet)

 

The Church End Estate was completed by 1980, as far as Talbot Road, although the flats built using the “Resiform” system (with fibreglass exterior panels) have since had to be demolished. A second wave of improvements were made in the 1990s. The estate has a mix of low-rise flats and family houses with gardens, some are privately owned, some social housing. There is a large Community Centre, sheltered accommodation for the elderly, children's playgrounds, and the modern St Mary’s Primary School in Garnet Road. Unfortunately, there is no shopping centre, so residents have to cross to the east side of Church Road, where parades of small shops have survived since the late 19th century. 

12. Two views of the Church End Estate, including the Unity Centre, July 2020. (Photos by Margaret Pratt)

The story continues. As the population grows, and new building continues, it is easy to forget what has gone before, to lose track of our history, and how the places we know became what they are today. I hope you’ve enjoyed uncovering the history of Church End and Chapel End.

Margaret Pratt,
Willesden Local History Society.

Uncovering the history of Church End and Chapel End, Willesden – Part 2

In Part 1 we looked at the church and chapel(s) that gave these parts of Willesden their names. This time, we’ll discover more about the history of the areas by exploring the stories of some of their landmark buildings, starting with those in Church End.

1.    A sketch map of the area, based on the 1895 O.S. map, with featured landmark buildings shown.

The “Six Bells” public house was built before 1724, and was known as the Five Bells, until the ring at St. Mary’s was augmented to six, when the name had to be changed! It later became known as The Old Six Bells. Being close to the church, it was a favourite meeting place of the Willesden Vestry members, during winter before their new Hall was built, when the church was cold. A Post Office letter box was fixed in its wall in 1870, and the pub was later converted into a shop, as seen in this photograph. The little pub has now disappeared. 

2.   The old "Six Bells", as a shop and post office, c.1920.

3.   Willesden's Round House lock-up, in the 19th century. (Brent Archives online image 2128)

The Round House, was a “lock-up”, or “cage,” on the corner of Neasden Lane, close to the church. It was used to house criminals waiting to see the Magistrate, and is pictured in the story of Jack Sheppard, seen in Part 1. Some of the stone from the building, after it was demolished, was used in the construction of St. Mary’s School (see below).

4.  The Vestry Hall, with original fire station beside it.

The Vestry Hall is a small building, that still stands by the roundabout where Neasden Lane meets Willesden High Road, near to St. Mary’s Church. It was built in 1857, when the Willesden Vestry, a parish meeting which was the forerunner of the Local Council, decided that they needed a purpose-built Hall. It would include a fireproof cupboard for the precious Vestry Minutes, and would also house the Willesden fire engine. 

When the Vestry was replaced by the Willesden Local Board, in 1874, the public enquiry was held in the Vestry Hall. This quaint landmark has survived fire, has served as a nursery, and now houses the foodbank run by the Trussell Trust.

5.    St. Mary's School, as proposed in 1845, and in 1947. (Brent Archives online images 3030 and 1286)

Willesden National School (St. Mary’s School) was one of the earliest schools to open in Willesden. The Vestry decided, in 1809, to establish a Sunday School for 80 children of the poor, giving them a chance to learn to read and write. The local farmers, who relied on children’s labour at certain times of the year, were less than impressed by this idea, thinking that the youngsters would get ideas “above their station”. The original Sunday School became a day-school in 1818, transferring into a new building in 1853, beside Willesden Lane (renamed Willesden High Road by 1900). It was funded by public subscription. 

The School remained in use until 1972, and is fondly remembered by generations of Church End schoolchildren. The new St. Mary’s School is in Garnet Road, to the west of the Church. Willesden Magistrates’ Court is now on the site of the old school (and the Six Bells).

In 1861, a new St. Mary’s Vicarage was built in Neasden Lane, opposite the Church, and looking out over the cricket field behind. It was the latest in a long line, dating back to the 12^th century, and was itself replaced by a handsome house, designed by the architect Caroe, in 1904. The Caroe house was bought by British Thomson-Houston, the electrical engineers, for use as a conference centre by their directors. A vicarage designed by Cachermaille-Day, was built in 1939 on a site next door, nearer to the corner of Neasden Lane, and surrounded by a lovely garden. 

No trace of these buildings remains. The site on the corner was sold to developers in 2002, and now has a block of flats built on it. The present, much smaller vicarage was built on the opposite side of Neasden Lane, beside St. Mary’s Parish Centre (where Willesden Local History Society holds its monthly meetings, when we are not in lockdown!).

 6.   The White Hart Hotel, c. 1882 and as rebuilt in 1900. (Brent Archives online images 1241 and 1474)

A pub was in existence at the corner of Church Road and Willesden Lane by 1749. It was first known as “The Gate”, and then “The Leather Bottle”, with the name changed to The White Hart” in 1791. In Victorian times it was famous for its pleasure garden, and was enlarged in 1882. During the next two decades, the White Hart became the headquarters of the Neasden Cycling Club, and also the Finchley Harriers (when Finchley became built up, the runners preferred the more rural lanes and fields of Willesden for their cross-country runs!) The pub was also the local horse-bus terminus. The White Hart closed in 2002, and was demolished soon after, replaced by a block of flats, with a large shop on the ground floor.

7.    The White Horse public house, in 1874 and 1905. (Brent Archives online images 7287 and 1084)

“The White Horse” public house was also in Church Road, nearer to Harlesden, at the corner with Roundwood Road. A beerhouse stood on the site by 1801, later becoming fully-licensed. In 1888, it was replaced by a larger, brick building, which was damaged during the Second World War. It was repaired, but slowly declined in popularity. The White Horse was demolished in 1998, and replaced by flats, with a Veterinary Surgery on the ground floor.

8.   The Granada Cinema, Church Road, in 1933 and 1960. (Brent Archives online images 10375 and 426)

The Granada Cinema in Church Road opened in 1921, beside the industrial area of Cobbold Road. Already a large building, its seating capacity was increased to 2,000 in 1928. As “The Empire”, it was a popular venue for the whole of Willesden, with a famous cinema organ. The cinema closed in 1962, then reopened as a bingo hall. It then a became a church, and finally has been developed as flats, with the church still occupying the ground floor.

Chapel End, as well as the chapels themselves, also had a number of landmark buildings.

In 1828, the Vestry ordered the construction of a Pound, a walled area at the corner of Petticoat Stile Lane (which soon became known as Pound Lane). Following the Inclosure Act of 1810, which allowed existing landowners to divide up common land, such as Willesden Green, among themselves, ordinary people had nowhere to graze the few animals they kept.  

9.  The corner of Pound Lane and the High Road, with the Pound on the right, from a drawing of around 1890.

Stray dogs, horses, donkeys and sheep were rounded up, to prevent damage to gardens and orchards. They could be confined until their owners paid a fee for their release. The fee in 1830 was fourpence a day, plus the cost of feed, and a Mr Kilby was appointed as Pound Keeper. He remained in office until 1886, when it was decided that the Pound had outlived its usefulness. It was dismantled a few years later.

10.                  St. Mary's Infants School, Pound Lane, c.1900 and c.1950. (Brent Archives online images 3028 and 3033)

St. Mary’s Infants School was a small school, for infants only. It was opened at Pound Lane in 1858, on land given by All Souls College, Oxford (important land-owners in Willesden). This building survives, and is now used by an Evangelical Church.

“The Case is Altered” public house, originally a beerhouse, was probably built in the 1850s, on a greenfield site. It was enlarged in 1877, but proved still too small for the rapidly-expanding population. A rebuild in 1887, and further expansion in 1915, provided the huge building we see today. The three-storey red brick building, opposite the junction with Dudden Hill Lane, has since been painted black, and provides hostel and bar accommodation, named “No.8.”

11.                  The Case is Altered public house, on the left, with the old Chapel in the distance, c.1880.

“The Crown” Public House, was built on Willesden High Road opposite the new Chapel. Enlarged in 1905, this attractive building closed for business in 2015, and still awaits a purchaser.

St.John the Baptist church, in Dudden Hill Lane,  opened in 1901, as a Mission Church of St. Andrew’s, Willesden Green. It closed as a church by 1937, and has been used since as the Brent Indian Centre, more recently named the “Sir Learie Constantine Centre,” in honour of the famous West Indian cricketer.

Willesden Green Electric Palace was a small cinema that opened next door to the first non-conformist Chapel in 1910. It was renamed “The Savoy” in 1933, and “The Metro” in 1949. The building survived until 2018, after being used as a cab office, then a church. It has now been demolished, and the site remains empty so far.

The purpose–built Pound Lane Drill Hall and training ground was opened in 1911, for military recruiting and training purposes. Col. Charles Pinkham, a local businessman and politician, organised the Willesden Defence League, which eventually became the Middlesex Volunteer Regiment. During the First World War, Pinkham raised two Battalions of the 9^th Middlesex Regiment, who went to fight in Mesopotamia (now Iraq). The Drill Hall eventually became used as a working men’s hostel, Pound Lodge, which was demolished around 2013, and replaced by a St Mungo’s Hostel, of striking modern design.

In 1900, the London General Omnibus Company bought land for stables at Pound Lane. Seven horse-buses an hour were running by 1903. Horse-drawn services were withdrawn in 1911, (despite protests by locals, who did not trust the new motor buses), and the site became the present Willesden Bus Garage. The bus garage has been an important local employer for over 100 years, with 958 people working there in 1949.

12.                 An aerial view of Willesden Bus Garage in 1921, with the Drill Hall across Pound Lane from the back of it. What other Chapel End landmark buildings can you spot in this picture?

Please join me next weekend, for the final part of this series, when we will look at some of the industries that came to Church End and Chapel End, and how local housing changed in the 20^th century.

Margaret Pratt.

Large mixed development planned for Dudden Hill Lane/High Road site

The site

Away from Wembley for a change, Brent Planning Committee on Wednesday LINK will see a pre-planning application presentation for a significant development in Dudden Hill Lane/High Road Willesden.  The site is currently mainly industrial units.

The proposal:

The proposal in its current form seeks to create a mixed use development comprising 224 residential units and amenity space, affordable workspace, café, nursery, florist, supermarket and gym. The workspace and retail elements of the proposal would be located at ground floor level with the residential units located on the upper floors. Vehicular access to the site would be from the eastern side via Dudden Hill Lane. Pedestrian access would also be from this side of the site and on the western side to create a desire line through the site and improve connectivity. The proposal would have three main buildings above ground floor level with heights of nine, seven and five storeys. The residential units would have access to communal space at first floor level between the taller buildings.

Site and Surroundings 

The site has an area of 0.93 hectares and is bounded by the Sapcote Trading Centre to the north: Colin Road to the south; Dudden Hill Lane to the east: and High Road to the west. The site is currently occupied by a number of industrial units including a heavy plant hire business, storage facilities for haulage equipment and scaffolding and a MOT station/Used car sales garage. There are three retail units located on the southern side of the site adjacent to the Colin Road/High Road junction. There is also a tyre garage located on Colin Road that does not form part of the site proposal. 

The surrounding area comprises industrial units to the north, an undesignated shopping parade to the east and south and residential properties to the east, west and south. The site is also located within a Locally Significant Industrial Site (LSIS). Residential units in the form of two storey terraced properties are located on the southern boundary of the site on Colin Road. Residential properties are also found along Dudden Hill Lane and High Road. The height of the buildings in the area is generally two/three storeys however there are a number of examples of taller buildings located to the west on the approach to Church End and to the north-east on Dudden Hill Lane. The site is not located within a conservation area and does not contain any listed buildings. 

The site has a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 5 with Dollis Hill underground station located approximately 160 metres to the north-east and regular bus services to Church End, Neasden and Willesden.