In search of grass and green space in Wembley Park

Descending from Barn Hill to Wembley Park

There was a tweet from Brent Council recently boasting of their new green planning guidance - unfortunately it showed what was clearly plastic grass.

Today's sunshine was a good opportunity to have a walk around Quintainland to see how things are going. The trees along Olympic Way are thriving and there are lots of container shrubs. Children were enjoying themselves splashing in the fountains outside the Wembley Arena but still a lot of hot concrete.

Children and families were clearly out and about enjoying the sunshine so I was interested in how they were enjoying the green 'amenity spaces' provided by the developers. I could not find one child playing on the plastic grass - the spaces were deserted.

The spaces are private - for people in the blocks only. Perhaps there are no children because the blocks do not contain families?

 

It resembles all those bicycle parking places provided in new developments that never have a single bicycle in them.

I thought it would be worth checking out Union Park on Engineers Way (Buses 92, 206, and  440 stop next to the park). I started from the stadium and walked down towards Engineer's Way and at first saw  - a deserted  tennis court and a deserted plastic grass playground (some real plants and trees though). 

 

But hey! I could hear people and children giggling.

The paddling pool looked fun and there were some plants but no grass.

Heading north towards Engineer's Way there was a water feature and plenty of natural grass (although there are some drain covers disguised with plastic grass). There's a lot of water works here as this is a SuDs (Sustainable Drainage System) that provide an alternative to the direct channelling of surface water through networks of pipes and sewers to nearby watercourses. (see last image)

Clearly good for the environment and the prevention of  flooding but whether it is enough to mitigate all the non-permeable concrete will only be tested by time as extreme weather contnues to develop.

 

Some thought has gone into planting here and it looks promising for biodiversity. There is even a bug hotel:

There were still only few people here and the nearby cafe reported no increase in customers in the fine weather. Felt a little strange - only a couple of people sunbathing on the grass.

On the west side of the park things were more lively at a small children's playspace. Unfortunately the nearest toilets are at Brent Civic Centre.

 

 

The water cascades  into drainage on Engineer's Way - the hoardings are in fron of the site for the second half of the park - currently called North Park which will have a small lake.

This is how the two parks will combine, with Engineer's Way running between them. The North Park will be surrounded by tall towers which will reduce sunlight but you would not think that from the artist's impression below with its shimmering misty tower blocks. The park is on the site of the former Yellow Car Park.

 

 Bottom right North End Road and Bridge Road Junction

 

Shimmering towers and sunlit grass

I hoped to see some progress had been made on the North Park but was disappointed to see that the site appeared to be mainly used for storage with no work going on to prepare the ground for the park. Quite a contrast from the above image!

Given that the aim was for Wembley Stadium to be a mainly public transport destination I was surpised to see this boast:

 

Recent controversy over densification of the tall buildings reducing light are brought home in streets such as Rutherwood Way. The developer's artist's impression shows it as tree-lined!

If the weather is fine and the kids are bored in the last week or so of the summer holiday it might be worth taking them down to Wembley Park. Union Park is only a short walk from Wembley Park Station. Head down Olympic Way and turn left at Engineer's Way.

 

 

The Union Park SuDs system:

 

The road at the bottom is Engineer's Way

Wembley Park road changes update

 

A glimpse of the new Bridge Road- North End Road junction. At present it is a steep ramp but aggregate was being delivered this morning presumably to reduce the gradient. There are  reports that there will be weight restrictions when it opens. Brent Council has said it should be open to pedestrians by the end of the month.

The mural on Olympic Way is covered again apart from one section but correspondence is still taking place over whether planning permission for advertising is actually in place.

Behind the ramp on the right is 1 Olympic Way, former office accommodation being converted to flats.

The length of Olympic Way up to the infamous steps is nearing completion.

 

There is no word yet on when Engineers Way will be open again to traffic. 'Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Measures' have to be put in place.

UPDATE Brent Council's 'Vanity' road - it's enough to make you crack up

 UPDATE: A Brent Council source has said that the stripping below is for the installation of Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures and not due to the state of the road. There is no word on whether the reinstated surface will be block paving or tarmac.

When Brent Council's £100m Civic Centre was built it was decided that a building of such distinction required an equally distinctive road surface so £852,000 was spent on block paving. Given that it was a route for heavy construction lorries it soon deteriorated although Brent Council also blamed severe weather.

Further money has been spent on ongoing repairs but observers have now seen that a section of Engineers Way outside the Civic Centre  has been stripped:

 

Engineers Way yesterday

 Former Brent Liberal Democrat leader Paul Lorber, has written to the Council to ask if the road is going to replaced  by asphalt as in other parts of the borough and why similar remedial action cannot be taken at Station Approach in Sudbury.

It looked yesterday from the stack of blocks visible on the site as if the block paving is going to be replaced. I think we need to know the additional costs involved.

Meanwhile with Engineers Way closed while work continues on the controversial , Fulton Road is the main access road to the stadium area. Residents of the new build have been complaining about the traffic jams caused by huge trucks accessing building sites with considerable difficulty and the damage caused when they have to mount the pavements.

 

At the other end of Olympic Way work is continuing on the linking of North End Road to Bridge Road with considerable incovenience to pedestrians. An initial justification given for the link was that  buses could use North End Road as a detour on event days and maintain a better bus service to residents. The 206 to the Paddocks was curtailed on event days. It now appears that there may have to be a weight limit on the new link which might affect these plans.

 

Engineers Way closed until April 15th - no completion date yet for North End Road

 

Engineers Way (new Stadium steps just visible on the extreme right)

 

Residents in the new flats that circle Wembley Stadium have become frustrated by the length of the closure of Engineers Way on which Brent Council's Civic Centre is situated.

The closure was necessitated by the controversial removal of the Wembley Pedway and its replacement by steps.

In a series of emails addressing the issue  the Council officer concerned has set out the current situation that envisages closure until April 15th:

As with all big infrastructure projects, there may be times when work is not happening, but that doesn’t mean it’s feasible to lift any restrictions. The closure extension is required to enable Quintain to complete their work safely. 

 

They still need to install new kerb lines, complete the footway works as well as install Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures at the foot of the new steps and on Perimeter Way East and Perimeter Way West. Brent are also implementing Hostile Vehicles Mitigation measures outside the Civic and Market Square. 

 

The closure enables us to coordinate work and implement the measures at the same time and is more efficient than implementing a number of phased closures that will inevitable extend the duration of work and disruption to the network. 

 

 

I apologise for the inconvenience but hope you can understand we are programming the work to be completed at the earliest opportunity.  

 

The current closure of Engineers Way is to be extended to facilitate the removal of the pedway. The original reopening date had been in place to account for the Carabao Cup that was due to be played on 28th February. The closure would have been reintroduced soon after this date to enable the works to continue unhindered and to also allow for Brent Highways to implement Hostile Vehicle Mitigation measures along Engineers Way in the vicinity of the Civic Centre. The closure will now remain in place until 15^th April 2021.

 

Parents with children at Michaela School have been asking how long the closure of North End Road will be in place. At present staff can enter Michaela via a steep temporary staircase  from Bridge Road but pupils have to take a long detour via Olympic Way. 

 
A request for information made to Brent Council has not yet been answered but a visit there earlier this week suggested it is going to be some time. At present the new section appears to be quite steep!

 

 

 

  

 

 

Brent Civic Centre's 'Vanity Road' cost £852,000 and an extra £2,777 so far to repair

Collapse of the 'Vanity Road'

Brent Council has admitted that the block paving road outside the Civic Centre  on Enginereers Way cost £852k which was funded through Section 106 money. The cost of repairs to date is £2,777. In a response to Paul Lorber the Council said it did not keep records on the cost of officer time dealing with individual matters such as this. They confirmed that no costs had been recovered from the contractors and other third parties for the defects and repairs.

Following up the issue Lorber said that the cost seemed high for such a short stretch of road and asked for the comparable cost in tarmac. In addition he asked if the Council intended to pursue the contractor for the cost of repairs.

'Severe winter weather' hits Brent Civic Centre

Damaged by 'severe winter weather'?

Brent Civic Centre seems to have its own micro-climate, perhaps caused by all those tall buildings hustling around it, according to a response from Brent Council that blamed ‘severe winter weather’ for the further cracking up of the ‘vanity’ block paving road outside the Civic Centre which cost thousands of pounds.

The rest of us may have experienced a couple of frosty nights and a dusting of snow but clearly something much harsher must have hit the Brent Civic Centre - it makes you crack up!
The Council explanation was made to Paul Lorber who was pressing home the case for action over Engineers Way LINK which runs in front of the building. The Council said:

In May 2017 it was decided that there were patches that needed repairs, which were initially done in asphalt and then replaced more permanently with blocks. Those repairs have held up, but it has become apparent that there is ongoing deterioration generally in other parts of the two areas either side of the central granite-surfaced area.

Currently, as sometimes happens after severe winter weather, there has been further deterioration which will require interim repairs and these will be programme shortly.

Lorber responded:

I am sorry but I find the approach to this very odd. Pavements are being replaced with asphalt to save money - even when residents object.

This section of expensive road has been a problem right from the outset. I do not believe that it is just the weather - the materials used are clearly wrong for an area subject to so much traffic by heavy builders lorries. As the use by lorries will continue for some time the type of patching up repairs you mention are in my view just not going to work and waste more money.

From my recent observations it is more than just two areas/sections that are crumbling and in cases pose a trip hazard for pedestrians.

If not yet obtained I think an independent assessment should be obtained of the best solution and if already obtained I would appreciate a copy under FOI if necessary.