Works to demolish Wembley Stadium pedway & replace with steps will now not take place until AFTER Euro 2020

Controversial works to replace the Wembley Stadium pedway with steps will not now take place after Euro 2020 despite Brent Planning Committee being told in September 2018 that they would be completed for the Euro 2020 matches to be played at Wembley.

EXTRACT FROM COUNCIL MINUTES LINK

Members heard that the steps were intended to be in place for 2020 when Brent would become the Borough of Culture and Wembley National Stadium would host European Nations League finals.

-->The European Nation Leagues Final final will be held on July 12th 2020. One of the reasons cited for the urgency over pedway replacement was it would would provide a fitting modern gateway to European matches at the stadium as well as contribute to public realm 'improvements' to showcase the Brent Borough of Culture 2020. Now they won't be in place until after both events.

Brent Council told Wembley Matters today that works are scheduled to start in late 2020 and will be completed in Summer 2021.

The works will be complex and disruptive. Unfortunately the Site Management Plan no longer seems to be available on the Brent Council website but I published extracts on Wembley Matters HERE

Controversy was not just a matter of whether the pedway replacement was needed, and whether steps would be safe, but also the fact that Brent Council was using money paid to the Council (almost £18m) by Quintain in Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to spend on the pedway replacement, reconnection of North End Road to Bridge Road and other Olympic Way improvements when many felt it could have been spent on infrastructure improvements elsewhere in the borough.

The commencement date for the North End Road-Bridge Road reconnection works has been postponed from the July 1st start date but is still expected to be finished by January 2020.

Brent Council Planning Committee to decide on a 23 storey tower near Empire and Danes Court, Wembley

The development and others planned (grey shading) from North End Road

Before

After

Cumalative massing

Brent Planning Committee on December 12th will consider an application to build a block of varying heights, maximum 23 storeys, on a site in Watkin Road currently occupied by single storey car repair buildings. It is just outside the Quintain Masterplan site but illustrates the way tower blocks are spreading across the area.

At 23 storeys it is lower than the 29 storey Apex House student accommodation tower which will be its near neighbour. There is a 34 story block planned at Quintain Plot NE06.

The new building continues the enroachment on


As has become custome and practice the report by Brent planners glosses over aspects where the application fails to meet or comes close to not meeting local and London guidance:

1. Provision of new homes and affordable workspace: Your officers give great weight to the viable delivery of private and affordable housing and new affordable commercial floor space, in line with the adopted Development Plan.
   
2. The impact of a building of this height and design in this location: The proposal replaces a poor quality commercial plot with a large modern high density development in keeping with the surrounding and approved built form. The development utilises good architecture with quality detailing and materials in order to maximise the site’s potential whilst respecting surrounding development. The development will not obstruct views of the Wembley Stadium arch from any protected viewpoints. A “tall building” is proposed within an area designated as “Inappropriate for tall buildings”. However, the height, layout, design and massing has been carefully considered and has been evaluated by the Design Council Design Review Panel, the GLA and by Brent Officers who all have concluded that the proposed building is appropriate for this context.
   
3. Quality of the resulting residential accommodation: The residential accommodation proposed is of sufficiently high quality. The mix of units is in accordance with the standards within the London Plan and reasonably well aligned with the Wembley Area Action Plan mix, and the flats would generally have good outlook and light. The amenity space is below our standard, but is still substantial and is high for a tall building.

4. Affordable housing: The maximum reasonable amount has been provided
   on a near policy compliant tenure split. This includes 35% affordable housing provision with a tenure split of 60:40 between affordable rented and intermediate flats when measured in terms of habitable rooms. 48% of the affordable rented accommodation are 3 bedroom flats when measured in terms of habitable rooms. The viability has been tested and it has been demonstrated that this is the maximum reasonable amount that can be provided on site. The requirements of affordable housing obligations are considered to have been met and a late stage viability review will be secured by S106.
   
5. Neighbouring amenity: There would be a loss of light to some windows of surrounding buildings, which is a function of a development on this scale. Many of the windows affected would serve student accommodation and/or do not yet exist as an established residential standard. The impact is considered to be acceptable given the urban context of the site. The overall impact of the development is considered acceptable, particularly in view of the wider regenerative benefits.
   
6. Highways and transportation: The alterations to the public highway as required in the S106 would be acceptable, considering the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. The highway works will include (i) providing a new loading bay on North End Road and (ii) extending a 20mph zone alongside the building. To encourage sustainable travel patterns, the scheme will be 'car-free' with the exception of blue badge parking spaces. A financial contribution of £110,000 towards extending CPZ's into the area is proposed with the removal of rights for residents within the development to apply for parking permits. A for bus service enhancements in the area, as required by TfL, will also be secured.
   
7. Trees, landscaping and public realm: Some low quality trees are proposed to be removed but they are not considered worthy of retention. The proposal is likely to substantially improve on the existing situation with a new public realm and associated tree planting proposed alongside a wider landscaping strategy. This will be assured through conditions.
   
8. Environmental impact, sustainability and energy: The measures outlined by the applicant achieve the required improvement on carbon savings within London Plan policy. Conditions will require further consideration of carbon savings prior to implementation.
   
9. Flooding and Drainage: Part of the site sits within a flood zone. A flood mitigation strategy and drainage strategy will be secured by condition to mitigate the risks associated with this. The development will also substantially improve the drainage capacity of the site through attenuation measures.
   

I would be interested to hear what the residents of Empire and Danes Court think of the proposal.

£6m plan to re-connect Bridge Road and North End Road in Wembley

The existing steps and ramp that provide pedestrians access to Olympic Way and North End Road from Bridge Road (closed when crowds leave the stadium)

The Brent Cabinet will make a decision on a £6m plus scheme to rejoin North End Road, Wembley Park to Bridge Road at its meeting on July 16th.  An artist's visualisation of the project will not be published until the day of the meeting but I expect the road extension to run close to the Michaela Community School. (see above)

The plans has been on the back burner for many years but has become a necessity as a result of the Council's decision to fund the removal of the Wembley Stadium pedway and its replacement by steps. That scheme plus other public realm improvements  on Olympic Way is costing £17.8m the Council has allocated from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and the additional £6m is also likely to come from CIL.

The officers' report states:

A planning application has recently been submitted to remove the existing pedway that enables spectators to cross Engineers Way. This will require Engineers Way to be closed prior to events as well as afterwards, The outcome of this is there will be not east-west vehicular movements across the growth area for an extended period of time, further impacting on residents and businesses as well as reducing the number of buses able to access the twin centres and shopping areas (Tesco and IKEA).

If the pedway is replaced by steps the construction of the North End Road connection becomes essential to provide a vehicular route which is not impacted by the vehicular exclusion required on event days around the stadium. Additional benefits could be [my emphasis] buses would also not be required to divert away from the area enabling journeys to be completed without inconvenience. If implemented it is expected that the steps will be constructed in 2019.

I am not sure the residents of North End Road will welcome the transformation of what is currently a quiet road into a busy thoroughfare, perhaps with buses, although some motorists may welcome better access.  I will await confirmation from TfL regarding the practicality running buses on this alternative route.  Certainly residents on my estate, Kings Drive, are frustrated by the curtailment of the 206 bus service on Wembley event days.

In addition to this major infrastructural project the Cabinet will also consider proposals to introduce 'two-way working'  on South Way between VDC Careys and Great Central Way, Fifth Way and Fourth Way 'to improve the operation of the highway network on event days and provide some mitigation on the delay experienced by residents and business in North End Road through avoiding having to flow around the gyratory with event day traffic.' VDC Careys will accommodate the new Wembley Stadium coach park, becoming operational in January 2020.

Officers argue:

Two-way working is also proven to lower traffic speeds just through the experience of having oncoming traffic movements, this will assist in providing a better environment for pedestrians and cyclists to be in and encourage sustainable and active travel into this vehicle domination area.

The outcome is intended to achieve an appealing gateway to Wembley, improved public realm for the existing community and improve the environmental conditions to attract future investment.

Persuaded?

New Wembley Park development comes with built in flood risk

Brent Planning Committee on Wednesday 14th will consider a planning application for the vacated Amex site in North End Road, Wembley. LINK

The officer's report has the familiar mantra for the Quintain area which considers that the height of the building, though not meeting planning guidelines, can be approved because of its good design and the height of other buildings such as Victoria House, in the near vicinity; and the proportion of affordable housing at 22.6% not meeting the 50% target is approved as a result of the financial viability assessment carried out by advisers.

The buildings front on to North End Road and follow the loop of the Wealdstone Brook at the back. The aim is to partially naturalise the Wealdstone Brook which is currently in a concrete culvert although lined by mature trees.  Naturalisation was a long term aim of the Wembley Plan to improve the environment but it is unclear from the application whether there will be public access.  I am awaiting  response from the Planning Officer to my query.

The development is next to Danes Court and Empire Court which are four storeys high and set in gardens. The Courts will now have tall buildings at each end of North End Road. In the original Wembley Plan there was a proposal to re-build the North End Road junction with Bridge Road where the Michaela Free School now stands. I have asked Planning about the current status of this plan.

One of the difficulties of the site is that it is surrounded on what could be seen as three sides by the Wealdstone Brook and this is a flood risk area. See the line of the brook below:

In a period of extreme weather caused by climate change there is obviously a need to build mitigation into the development. The Planning Report sets out the risk and actions taken to mitigate the risk. I publish it below for the record. In the event of  extreme flooding the site has the potential to become a temporary island.

The Wealdstone Brook is a 2m wide culverted watercourse, the base level of which is some 2.5m 
below adjacent ground level. The canalised brook is a tributary of River Brent and passes through the area within the engineered structure, and only becomes ‘naturalised’ where it emerges further south.

112.    The application site lies within Flood Zone 3a, defined by the NPPF as having a high probability of flooding. Development classified as ‘more vulnerable’ is only appropriate in these areas following application of the Flood Risk Sequential Test and where the Exception Test has been applied in full and has been passed. The revised FRA submitted has now used updated and revised climate change allowances to assess flood risk on site using the modelling already carried out and approved in support of application at Wembley Point for the Wealdstone Brook. The Environment Agency (EA) accept the design flood level detailed in the submitted FRA.

113.    The NPPF requires the Exception Test to be applied in the circumstances shown in Table 3 of the ‘Planning Practice Guidance: Flood Risk and Coastal Change’. Paragraph 102 of the NPPF makes clear that all elements of the test must be passed for development to be permitted. Part 2 of the test requires the applicant to demonstrate that the development will be safe for its lifetime taking account of the vulnerability of its users, without increasing flood risk elsewhere, and, where possible will reduce flood risk overall.

114.    The flood modelling prepared by the applicant shows that North End Road would be inundated in both the 1 in 100 35% climate change event and the 1 in 100 70% climate change event, which appears to be the only access/egress route. This means that safe refuge within the development is required for future occupants as safe access and egress cannot be achieved.

115.    The finished floor levels of the development have been raised above the 1 in 100 chance in any year, including an allowance for climate change flood extent. This means that floodwater is unlikely to enter the property during a 1 in 100 chance in any year plus climate change flood extent.

116.    The applicant has overcome the EA’s previous objection by submitting an acceptable emergency flood plan framework to the local planning authority that deals with matters of evacuation and refuge to demonstrate that people will not be exposed to flood hazards.

117.    The full detailed flood plan for the site will be secured by condition prior to the occupation of the development hereby approved.

118.    To summarise, the applicant has demonstrated that the site has satisfactorily addressed the EA’s previous objection, demonstrating that people will not be exposed to flood hazards and therefore the application is acceptable in flood risk terms.

North End Road is currently a 'dead end' street and the planning officers, despite the new development being designated 'car free' as it is so close the Wembley Park station and bus routes, take into account potential parking problems:

The applicant therefore proposes to designate the development as ‘car-free’ and the good access to public transport and other services would support this. There is however some concern that this development, with parking provision for just 8% of units, would generate an excessive volume of parked cars in the adjoining streets that cannot be regulated at the present time and that the proposal could potentially result in parking conditions detrimental to the free and safe flow of traffic in the area.

In order to avoid this in the event that the development is approved, it is essential that the right of future residents and businesses to on-street parking permits (both for the existing Stadium event day CPZ and for any future year-round CPZ that is introduced in the area in future) be withdrawn through a Section 106 Agreement.

A significant contribution (£100,000) via a S106 Agreement should also be provided towards subsidising the cost of on-street parking permits for existing residents in the area, so that if a CPZ is introduced to control overspill parking from this development, they are not unduly inconvenienced by it. This figure has been calculated using the Council's standard rationale for CPZ contributions.

There is another broader issue about the development around the stadium which is the gradual removal of small businesses as they are replaced by housing, hotels and student accommodation. This impacts on longer term employment opportunities in the area.

Brent Council decisions made this week

Brent Council Executive among other decisions on Monday approved Muhammed Butt's statement on 'Shaping a Healthier Future' and this now represents the Council's stance. The application for an ECO grant to reduce energy use and bills was approved as were changes in SEN provision and procurement for public health contracts.

The Planning Committee approved the Electric House, Willesden Green, application subject to conditions and the 575 North End Road, Wembly private student housing development was approved but will be referred to the Mayor of London.

North End Road reconnection controversy returns to Wembley Park

Controversial plans to reconnect North End Road in Wembley with Bridge Road at the Bobby Moore Bridge, beside Wembley Park Station, (see plan above) remain in the revised Wembley Plan which the Brent Executive will approve for consultation  this evening.

A quiet haven at present

When the original plans for reconnection were published four years ago LINK they attracted opposition from the Wembley Community Association which wanted to keep the low traffic levels of North End Road which serves the quiet residential area of  Empire Court and Danes Court.  At present the road ends in pedestrian and cyclist ramps at Olympic Way between Arena House (soon to be a secondary free school) and 1 Olympic Way. Since 2009 the Victoria Hall student accommodation has been built on North End Road.

North End Road leading to Victoria Hall

Brent Council say that 'a new road link at North End Road is a key component of the overall strategy enabling the promotion of highway access into Wembley (and beyond) from the North Circular'.  They claim that the new connection will benefit the development area during stadium events and reduce traffic along Neasden Lane and Forty Lane 'allowing prioritisation for non-car modes. The connection may also facilitate improvements to bus services, depending on results of the bus strategy'.

Henry Lancashire in his submission to Brent Council says that the proposed link will conflict with the popular bus stop opposite Wembley Park Station and increase the danger of pedestrian access to the bus stop. He states that the current access enables cyclists to take a safe route from the Brent River Park and can only increase in popularity if the proposed cycling/pedestrian bridge across the Chiltern Line from St David's Close is built. Brent Cyclists also express a preference for the link from North End Road to Bridge Road to be for cycling only. They state 'This would be far cheaper to implement than a connection for motor vehicles, and, with work and highway adoption or land-take in the Atlas Way/Fourth Way/Fifth Way area, could provide a viable, high-quality corridor for walking and cycling via the Brent River Path all the way from Stonebridge Park to Bridge Road.

Lancashire suggest that the required land acquisition for the link will be a) costly and b) damaging and in particular that the green space associated with the river opposite Victoria Hall will be lost: 'This is a valuable wildlife corridor used by species including wrens, robins, blackbirds and pipistrelle bats'.

Brent Council respond that the bus stop will be moved 'slightly to the south' and will be accessed via the Olympic Way underpass (people  dash across the road at present and I don't really see that changing).  They say negotiations are still going on for land acquisition and they are trying to keep the costs down: 'The scheme has been revised to remove the need for land from Victoria Hall'.

In their submission to the Council Quintain Estates and Developments state:

We do not consider this connection to be justified to mitigate the impacts of development and instead it appears mainly top be based on a need to provide circulation to and from the Industrial Estate on Stadium Event Days. In any event,  it is not required to mitigate the impacts of development currently consented in the regeneration areas.

 I am currently trying to find the likely cost of the proposal which in 2009 was put at £20m.

A look at Hannah Close, possible new waste site

My curiosity led me this afternoon to have a stroll around  the back of the stadium to see where a possible recycling plant might be sited in Hannah Close. Careys, the local company who helped save the Welsh Harp Environmental Centre, has a lot of property in the area along with their waste management subsidiary Seneca.

Seneca's  security guards were worried about me taking photographs and denied that the company had anything to do with Careys. The Jubilee and Metropolitan lines run behind the site and on the other side is St Margaret Clitherow Primary School and residential streets which include Quainton, Verney, Aylesbury Chesham and Village Way.

Hannah Close, and Atlas Road which it joins, already have several recycling sites:

The River Brent runs flows to Hannah Close and runs beneath the railway line. Wembley Brook is also close by. Campaigners in Ealing have been concerned about possible contamination of the River Brent if new waste processing facilities are built and there must be similar concerns in Wembley.

The following photograph was taken today with waste fluid apparently flowing from Harringtons in Fourth Way.

A further concern is the proposal, in the Wembley Masterplan, to open up North End Road and join it again to Bridge Road in Wembley. At present North End Road is closed where it meets Atlas Road. If it was opened up and joined to Bridge Road a route would be established to the recycling facilities in Hannah Close, via Atlas Road, increasing lorry traffic past the Danes Court and  Empire Court flats, which at present are a peaceful haven despite their proximity to the railway.

NOT SO MASTERFUL!

Consideration of the Wembley Masterplan by the Brent Executive, due to be table at its meeting on Monday April 6th, has been put off following intervention by the Conservative Group.

The Masterplan has been been heavily criticised by the Wembley Community Association, Brent Green Party and Quintain Estates on the basis that it is unaffordable and undeliverable.

The reconnection of North End Road to Bridge Road at an estimated cost of £20mln (the cost of two new primary schools) which has been a particular bone of contention in the Plan has been thrown into doubt. At present the closed off road provides a low traffic haven which is safe for children from the nearby flats. The Masterplan envisaged the demolition of the present pedestrian footway linking Bridge Road and Olympic Way which provides access to North End Road. (see photograph) However the Planning Inspectorate last week over-ruled Brent Council and approved the building of a 20 storey student accommodation tower on a nearby site, raising issues about the practicality of the Masterplan proposals.

Click here for the WCA's Submission on the Masterplan

Click here for Brent Green Party's Submission on the Masterplan

ARK PLANNING CONCERNS

Meanwhile ARK Academy campaigners have raised concerns about missing essential documentation on the council planning site ahead of the re-scheduled planning hearing on Tuesday April 28th. They argue that they are unable to make an informed submission if essential documents are unavailable for detailed perusal.