Quintain Ltd, the Wembley Park developer, has completed the refinancing the London Designer Outlet and the 627 unit 'Ferrum' build-to-rent developement with a £233.6 million load from the Bank of America.
Philip Slavin, Chief Financial Officer at Quintain Ltd, commented:
Whilst this is not the first facility we have secured from Bank of America,
it is certainly our largest and represents an ongoing, positive relationship.
Ferrum and the LDO are extremely important assets at Wembley Park and of which we
are particularly proud.
BRENT PLANNING COMMITTEE APPROVED THE EXTRA EVENTS APPLICATION WITH JUST ONE VOTE AGAINST. MINUTES WILL GO TO PLANNING COMMITTEE BECAUSE OF WIDER ISSUES RAISED.
The application by Wembley National Stadium Ltd (WNSL) for additional major events at the stadium will be heard at 6pm tonight. The officer's report to the Planning Committee can be read HERE. The public can attend the meeting in person at the Civic Centre or watch online HERE.
While the full report can be read on the link above I print below two significant extracts. Quintain Ltd is the owner of some land within the planning application area and their developments around the stadium now has a large number of residents, many of whom have become restive over the impact of Wembley events on their lives:
QUINTAIN COMMENTS
The proposal is supported
subject to the following conditions:
From reviewing the
representations submitted by local residents, it is clear that event day management, and in
particular stewarding and post-event cleaning, are areas of significant
concern. Therefore, WNSL should commit to paying all the operational and management
costs associated with the additional events and/or any event that exceeds the
existing caps of 22 sporting events and 24 non -sporting events in a calendar
year.
WNSL have highlighted the
success of the triparty ‘Best in Class’ initiative between WNSL, Quintain and
Brent, which currently manages the impacts of event days upon the local area
and state this will be implemented for the additional events. Whilst we agree
that the ‘Best in Class’ principles covering stewarding, parking enforcement,
traffic management, toilets and street cleaning should apply to the additional
events, the increased costs associated with delivering these should be borne
wholly by WNSL.
To ensure residents’ amenity
is adequately protected, WNSL should commit to the following restrictions on
events: a cap on the maximum number of consecutive non -sporting events; a cap on the maximum number
of non-sporting events per week; and a cap on the maximum number of weeks in any
calendar year where the maximum number of consecutive non -sporting events or
maximum number of non-sporting events in a week can be held.
The above conditions should
be included in the s.106 Agreement (Deed of Variation).
Should they not be secured,
Quintain reserve the right to make further representations. As a participant in the Best
in Class initiative, and owner of land within the planning application boundary where
many of these measures will take place, Quintain would expect to be consulted on the
Deed of Variation before it is completed
We would also request that
WNSL, TfL and Brent work closely on mitigating the impact Stadium events have upon
existing bus routes and services to ensure residents are able to carry on their
daily lives and move around the area on event days with the minimum of
disruption.
THE OFFICER REPORT CONCLUSIONS (original report paragraph numbers)
144. The objections received
indicate that there is a level of impact currently experienced by local residents as a result
of events at the Stadium, with concerns predominantly focussed on anti-social behaviour,
transport issues, air quality and noise. Some impacts are to be expected, given the size of
the Stadium and its siting in a location surrounded by residential properties and businesses,
within a dense urban area, although it must be remembered that a Stadium has been in situ for
over 100 years.
145. The original cap on
events was imposed to manage the impacts until such time as specific transport
improvements had been made. Whilst most of these have taken place, not all of them
have been realised. Circumstances have changed since the original planning
permission in 2002, which suggest that the final piece of transport
infrastructure (i.e., the Stadium Access Corridor) will not be provided in its
originally envisaged form, but other changes to the road network have now taken
place. Therefore, the Council considers that the cap remains relevant.
146. Clearly, to increase
the number of higher capacity events to accommodate up to 8 additional major
non-sporting events per calendar year would imply an increase in the impact. However,
a wide range of mitigation measures have previously been secured and would continue
to do so to help mitigate these impacts. There are ongoing efforts to reduce
the number of vehicles on an event day, including additional parking
enforcement capacity and an updated Spectator Travel Plan to promote
sustainable travel patterns. WNSL and public transport operators work closely
to promote sustainable transport solutions and maximise the efficiency of the
network. This in turn contributes to reducing noise and air quality issues.
147. Infrastructure works
including two-way working in the area to the east of the Stadium and the
opening of a link between the western end of North End Road and Bridge Road to
provide an east-west route past the Stadium that is capable of being kept open
at all times before and after Stadium events has improved traffic flow in the
area and assist residents’ movements on event days.
148. The Trusted Parking
Scheme aims to ensure authorised car parks are responsibly run in a way that would limit their
impact on neighbouring residents and reduce local congestion, whilst the
Private Hire Management Scheme would reduce the number of vehicles in the area around the Stadium after
events have finished.
149. Employment and Training
benefits for Brent residents would also be secured by the proposed scheme.
150. With regard to
antisocial behaviour, a financial contribution would be paid by the Stadium to
Brent Council per additional major non-sporting event. This would go towards
mitigation measures as agreed between WNSL and the Council which may cover
measures to address anti-social behaviour.
151. Whilst it is
appreciated that local residents face challenges on event days, the direct economic benefits for the
local Brent economy of Stadium events are also recognised, including spending on
accommodation, food, drink and other ancillary items within the Wembley area. The uplift in
the event cap would also create additional event day steward and catering positions. Whilst
some types of business would suffer on event days, many would benefit from the influx of
people to the area.
152. In summary, it is
recognised that there is a level of impact associated with major events now, and that this would
increase with an increase in the number of high capacity major events. However, the measures
proposed would ensure that this is moderated as much as is reasonably achievable. All
are considered necessary to mitigate the increased number of major events which this
application proposes.
153. A further consideration
is that the Stadium can already be used for events up to 51,000 without restriction.
Existing mitigation measures would be extended to cover this increase. Measures including the
training and employment opportunities would apply more broadly to Stadium events, not just the
additional major non-sporting events for which permission is sought under this
application and would therefore provide wider benefits to local people and the local economy more
generally.
154. The proposal is
considered to accord with the development plan, having regard to material planning
considerations. While there will inevitably be some additional impacts
associated with an increase in the number of higher capacity non-sporting
events, a range of mitigation measures are proposed and some benefits are also
anticipated. The proposal is, on balance, recommended for approval.
Reading the report, although TfL mention the rail and tube routes they pay little attention to bus routes and their diversion and curtailment that impacts on residents.
Despite several protests over the curtailment of the 206 bus at Brent Park, affecting workers travelling to the industrial estates south of the stadium and school pupils when events are held on weekdays, no proposals are contained enabling the route to use the North End Road link.
The fourth and final part of the guest blog by local historian Philip Grant on a key piece of local history. Many thanks to Philip Grant for his tireless efforts to ensure our local history is acknowledged and celebrated.
1. The original (west end) entrance to Wembley Arena in 2003. (Image from the internet)
Welcome back for the final part of this story. As we saw at the end of Part 3, the Empire Pool had been renamed Wembley Arena, and although it was
still home to some sporting events, it was now being used mainly to stage music
and entertainment shows.
If I tried to name all of the acts who have performed at the Arena, the
list would take up the rest of this article. I will just mention a few, and if
I miss one of your favourites, you are welcome to add your memories of the
time(s) you saw them at Wembley in the comments below. Among the top British
bands that have performed here are The Rolling Stones, The Who, Status Quo, Queen,
The Police and Dire Straits. The first two of those both had drummers from
Wembley, in Charlie Watts and Keith Moon!
It would be unfair if I didn’t also name a few of the top acts from
overseas that have also performed here since the name was changed in 1978. Did
you see ABBA, AC/DC, Diana Ross, John Denver, Madonna, Meat Loaf, Dolly Parton,
Tina Turner, Whitney Houston or Stevie Wonder at Wembley Arena? If so, please
feel free to add your memories below.
2. A Torvill & Dean programme from 1985, and a recent Holiday on Ice
show. (Images from the internet)
One of the original purposes of the Empire Pool was to provide an ice-skating
rink. Although Wembley stopped staging its own ice pantomimes, spectacular touring
productions from the “Holiday on Ice” franchise have been a regular feature at
Wembley Arena since 1978. If you saw it on TV, as I did, you will never forget
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s gold medal-winning “Bolero” ice dance at
the 1984 Winter Olympics. The following year, as part of their World Tour, they
sold out the Arena for seven weeks with their own ice show.
The building was now more than fifty years old, and in the late 1980s
Wembley Stadium Ltd invested £10m to upgrade the Arena’s facilities for both
performers and the paying public who came to see them. The improvements allowed
even more spectacular effects to be included, as the 1990s saw more than 900
concerts performed at the venue. One of the most unusual for Wembley was an
arena staging of Puccini’s opera “Turandot” by the Royal Opera in 1991
(building on the popularity of the aria “Nessun Dorma”, which the BBC had used
as the theme tune for its coverage of the football World Cup in Italy the
previous year!).
3. Concert of Hope, George Michael singing in 1993, and watching other
performers with Princess Diana. (Images from the internet)
Charity events had been a feature of the Arena’s programme for decades. The
annual Concert of Hope for World Aids Day was supported by Diana, Princess of
Wales, and top performers, including another famous musician who grew up in
Brent, George Michael.
Cliff Richard, who first performed here in 1960 as part of a NME Poll
Winners’ concert, had 49 shows at Wembley Arena in the 1990s, and was still
packing the venue with his 50th anniversary tour in 2007. A
different genre of pop music also came to the Arena in the nineties, with shows
from boy (and girl) bands, including Take That, Boyzone, The Spice Girls and
Westlife. Two of those groups were from Ireland, but another Irish import,
Michael Flatley’s “Lord of the Dance”, was so successful in 1997 that it
returned for 21 sell-out shows the following year.
4. “Lord of the Dance” programme and video screenshot. (Images from the internet)
February 1999 saw the first solo stand-up comedy act at the Arena (many
more would follow) when Eddie Izzard performed “Dress to Kill”, in aid of The
Prince’s Trust. Britain (and Brent’s) increasing cultural diversity also saw
Wembley Arena hosting more Asian / Bollywood music shows, by performers
including Amitabh Bachchan and Asha Bhosle.
5. Eddie Izzard programme and Asha Bhosle poster. (Images from the internet)
By the end of the twentieth century, the original Wembley Stadium was about to be
demolished and replaced. It had been
bought, together with around 100 acres of land that Arthur Elvin’s company had
acquired, by the Football Association’s Wembley National Stadium Ltd, but they
were not interested in redevelopment. In 2002, they sold some of the land,
including the Arena, to Quintain Estates and Developments Plc, which eventually
bought 85 acres of Wembley Park.
Wembley Arena was only eleven years younger than the 1923 stadium, and
Quintain were soon making redevelopment plans, including a major refurbishment
of the Grade II Listed arena. Work began in February 2005, and included moving
the main entrance to the opposite end of the building, with access from a new
Arena Square (it is actually a triangle!). The project cost £36m, and the “new”
12,500-seat Wembley Arena re-opened on 2 April 2006, with a concert by Depeche
Mode.
6. The Wembley Arena redevelopment in progress, 2005. (Image from the internet)
You can see the Arena being refurbished in the photograph above, but
beyond it you can also see an exhibition centre, a triangular office block and
a round building, Wembley Conference Centre, which were built by the Wembley
Stadium company in the 1970s. The Conference Centre had been the venue for the
annual Masters Snooker Championship since 1979, but after Quintain demolished that
building in 2006, to make way for its Quadrant Court flats development, “The
Masters” moved to Wembley Arena from 2007 to 2011.
7. Scenes from the Olympic badminton and rhythmic gymnastics events at
Wembley Arena in 2012. (Images from the internet)
We saw in Part 2 how the then Empire Pool was used for some sports in
the 1948 Olympics, and when the Games came to London again in 2012, the now
Wembley Arena played host to two different Olympic competitions. First it was
the badminton events, followed by the rhythmic gymnastics. Together they brought
hundreds of competitors, from more than fifty nations, and thousands of
spectators to Wembley.
8. Wembley Arena, with Hilton Hotel and LDO beyond, in 2013.
Redevelopment continued around the refurbished Arena and its square.
Forum House was the first of Quintain’s many blocks of apartment homes, built
between the western end of the Arena and Empire Way. The Hilton Hotel was
another early addition, just across Lakeside Way (remember that the Empire Pool
was built at one end of the British Empire Exhibition’s central lake!) from the
Arena entrance. The former Wembley exhibition halls made way for the London
Designer Outlet shopping centre, which opened in 2013, as did Brent’s new Civic
Centre, on part of the site of the former BEE Palace of Industry, across
Engineers Way from Arena Square.
9. Arena Square, with Brent Civic Centre beyond, summer 2014.
Arena Square, with its seasonal fountains, has become a popular open
space (especially since the trees planted along its Wembley Park Boulevard side
have grown large enough to provide some shade). Another of its features,
designed to celebrate some of the Arena’s most popular performers, is the Square of Fame. Although this is on nothing like the scale of the Hollywood Boulevard
“walk of fame”, it has become an attraction in its own right. Madonna was the
first star to have bronze casts of her hands put on display, in 2006. The most
recent addition is Dame Shirley Bassey, in 2019, sixty years after her
appearance in the first popular music show at the Empire Pool (although she
continued to perform here well into the 21st century).
10. A Square of Fame compilation, showing some of the stars who have made
their mark at the Arena.
In 2013, Quintain handed over the management of Wembley Arena to a U.S. music
promotions company (now known as ASM Global). They, in turn, entered into a
10-year naming rights deal with Scottish and Southern Energy, so that the
building became known as The SSE Arena, Wembley. This made little difference to
the shows put on at the venue, which included the annual live final of the
X-Factor TV talent show (with previous episodes filmed at Wembley Park’s Fountain Studios, until they closed in December 2016).
11. Outside and inside The SSE Arena on X-Factor finals night. (Images from the internet)
The Arena’s name changed again, after SSE sold its retail business to
another electricity supplier, OVO Energy, in 2020. What began in 1934 as the
Empire Pool is now the OVO Arena Wembley. And twenty years after buying the
Arena, Quintain sold it in 2022, raising capital to pay for the construction of
more buy-to-let apartments as part of its continuing redevelopment of Wembley
Park. Its owner is now ICG Real Estate, part of the private equity firm Intermediate
Capital Group.
12. OVO Arena Wembley, from across Engineers Way, July 2024.
I hope you have enjoyed discovering more about the history of this
famous Wembley Park landmark and venue. It is a story that I have wanted to
share for several years, and the building’s 90th anniversary felt
like a good time to do that.
As long ago as the 1990s, Brent Council and the Stadium company worked
together to celebrate the sports and entertainment heritage of Wembley’s
Stadium and Arena. They did this with a series of ceramic tile murals, which
welcomed visitors coming from Wembley Park Station through a new subway and
onto the newly pedestrianised Olympic Way. Unfortunately, in 2013, the Council
agreed to allow Quintain to cover those tile murals with advertisements!
13. Some tile mural scenes celebrating events from Empire Pool / Wembley
Arena history.
Along with Wembley History Society and a number of local residents, I
have been campaigning since 2018 to get these tile murals put back on public
display. In 2022, Quintain agreed to put the mural
scenes on the walls in Olympic Way, which
they own, back on public view. They include the ice hockey tiled picture at the
top of the image above.
The other four mural scenes in that image are on the walls of the
subway, which Brent Council own. I had taken a photograph of the mural
celebrating the Horse of the Year Show in 2009, but the other three images,
showing a female singer (Shirley Basey?), an ice skater and a basketball player
(Harlem Globetrotters?), are all extracted from old views of the walls. All
four of these murals are still hidden from view, behind LED advertising
screens.
Brent Council had the chance to put the subway murals back on public
view from the end of August 2024, and there was a strong case for doing so. Sadly, Brent’s Cabinet was unwilling to consider that case, choosing
instead to receive slightly more advertising rent. That decision will mean
these parts of the Arena’s history (and more scenes from Wembley Stadium’s
history) will remain hidden from residents and visitors for at least another
four years.
I was crushed by happy, smiling and excited 'Swifties' on the packed Metropolitan line yesterday but the mood amongst Wembley Park residents was rather different.
It started off early morning when the 206 route from The Paddocks to Kilburn Park was stopped before 9am affecting people from the area travelling to work, school or shopping.
TfL via Twitter denied all knowledge of the curtailment and suggested residents rang their customer service, depite the fact they are a customer service. Instead they devoted themselves to publicising their Swiftie alternative tube map. Whimsy is no substitute for a public bus service!
The TfL website failed to inform passengers of the curtailment and the result was confusion and over-crowded pavements. Particularly worrying was that school children at each end of the 206 bus route would find that their bus was not running (southbound from Wembley Park) or would be dumped at Bridge Park (if travelling north to Wembley Park). People working at Brent Park Tesco and Ikea as well as the industrialarea south of the stadiumwere similarly disrupted.
About half an hour ago I found a woman at The Paddocks bus stop vainly waiting for a 206. She had been waiting for more than 30 minutes and said she would demand a council tax rebate.
Unfortunately this feeds a feeling that as far as Wembley Stadium, Brent Council, Wembley Park LDN (Quintain) and TfL go the needs of Wembley citizens (and particularly bus users) come way down the priority list on event days.
Last word from a Wembley Central resident:
Last night when Wembley Hill Road and Wembley Triangle were closed to all but traffic exiting to travel down Harrow Road to North Circular Raid it was chaos . There were untold amount of Chauffeurs/Ubers/Taxi's etc all parked up on double yellows at the Triangle next to the railings, blocking the road into Wembley High Road. All drivers were out of the cars, on their phones no doubt calling their passengers to let them know where they were waiting, The traffic on the south bound High Road was at a standstill. It was complete chaos, I have no idea why Police or Traffic Wardens were not called to prevent this, it was still like this at 11.30pm. The concert did not officially end until 10.45 that's when the fireworks went off.
The consultation regarding Wembley Stadium's Planning Application to hold additional major events closes on Monday.
The Olympic torch tile mural, and the torchbearer about to light the
Olympic flame in 1948.
Brent’s Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 28 May will decide on the award of a
new advertising lease for the Bobby Moore Bridge, from 31 August 2024 for the
next four years. They have two options to choose from, and Council Officers are
recommending Option B for approval:-
Extract from the Officer Report for 28 May meeting. (Note that Officers can’t spell Bobby Moore!)
The Officer Report is heavily biased in favour of Option B, but I will
have a chance to redress the balance. More than 100 people signed a petition calling on Brent Council and its Cabinet to only award a lease for
advertising on the parapets of the bridge (Option A), so that the tile murals
on the walls of the Bobby Moore Bridge subway, celebrating Wembley’s sports and
entertainment history, can be put back on public display. This means that I can
present that petition to the Cabinet meeting, before they consider the award of
the advertising lease.
Most of the tile murals on the subway walls have been hidden behind
adverts, or LED light panels which can be used for advertising, for more than
ten years. They were installed as a public artwork, so it is important that
Cabinet members can see pictures of at least some of the mural scenes their
decision will affect.
I asked to include a short powerpoint slide show as part of my
presentation, but this was refused. Apparently, it is essential that all the
screens show the digital clock, counting down the time remaining, when a member
of the public speaking! I was offered the chance to provide my images in
advance of the meeting, which I have done. This pdf document has been shared
with Cabinet members, and I will ask Martin to attach a copy at the foot of
this article, so that you can see it.
This, for readers’ information, is an outline of what I hope to say
during my five minute petition presentation at the Cabinet meeting:-
Today you’ll decide on the new advertising lease
for the Bobby Moore Bridge. The petition asks you to award the lease only for
the bridge parapets – Option A – so that the tile murals on the subway walls
can be put back on display
You’ll see, from the photos in my presentation, why
those murals deserve to be seen again, permanently.
Brent commissioned this public artwork, and it was
specially designed to welcome visitors, with colourful murals celebrating
Wembley’s sports and entertainment history.
There are eleven mural scenes that have been hidden
away since 2013, including the Olympic torchbearer and flag at the start of
Olympic Way, an important reminder of Wembley’s 1948 Olympic Games.
Other hidden scenes cover a variety of subjects,
including famous concerts at the Stadium, and the Horse of the Year Show, ice
skating and Harlem Globetrotters at the Arena.
Wembley History Society has been campaigning to have
the murals returned to public view since 2018. Its efforts saw the footballers
mural, with its plaque unveiled by Bobby Moore’s widow in 1993, uncovered the
following year.
We joined the Mayor and Council Leader in welcoming
the temporary display of three mural scenes in Olympic Way, at the start of
Borough of Culture year in 2020, when the Council acknowledged that ‘the tiles
are part of Brent’s rich heritage.’
Quintain put those scenes, just outside the subway,
back on permanent display in August 2022.
Option A is the opportunity to allow every
resident, and visitor to Wembley Park, to enjoy all of the beautiful murals, as
Brent originally intended.
The tile murals don’t have legal protection, but
they are a heritage asset, with historic and artistic merit. Brent has a
commitment to value heritage assets.
A paragraph from Brent’s 2019 Historic
Environment Strategy.
Good lighting in the subway, and the safety of
everyone using it, is very important.
When improvements were made to Olympic Way a few
years ago, Brent gave £17.8m CIL money towards the work, but allowed Quintain
to organise it.
The lighting design for the subway was based on the
LED advertising panels Quintain wanted to install, even though they knew those
panels had to be removed when the lease expired.
There will need to be changes when the panels are
removed. I’m sure the Council can work with Quintain and its lighting designer
on those, though it may mean a short delay in taking down the LED panels, and
possibly some extra CIL funding.
But using the advantage of reflected light, off of
the ceramic tiles, could actually reduce energy consumption!
[Although I won’t have enough time to include this in my presentation,
when Quintain’s Head of Masterplanning and its lighting designer came to a meeting of Wembley History Society in
October 2018, to discuss their plans for the
Bobby Moore Bridge subway, it was suggested to them that the tile murals could
be lit in such a way that the reflected light would help to light the subway
itself.]
Second half of the Leader Foreword from the
Officer Report for 28 May meeting.
The social value benefits, mentioned in the Leader
Foreword, will be provided by the supplier under the new lease, whichever
Option you decide on.
A lease under Option A will guarantee the Council a
minimum rent in excess of ninety thousand pounds a year.
Option B would pay slightly more, but the amount
involved is a tiny part of Brent’s budget.
The financial difference would be less than the
cultural, social, educational and heritage value of putting all the tile murals
back on public display.
I commend Option A to you, and ask you to vote for
it.
I think my presentation makes a strong case for putting all the Bobby
Moore Bridge tile murals back on display. Whether this is enough to persuade
Cabinet members remains to be seen!
Philip Grant.
The webcast of the Cabinet Meeting can be viewed on Tuesday 10am HERE
I’ve already written about my open letter to the Council Leader, seeking to ensure that voting on Brent’s award of a new advertising
lease for the Bobby Moore Bridge at next week’s Cabinet meeting is fair,
between the two options that bids were sought for.
In this article, I will share my concerns over whether the way in which
the Council carried out the process for awarding this contract gave a fair
chance to advertising companies other than the existing “supplier”, Quintain
Ltd (or its Wembley Park subsidiary).
The new lease was published as an open Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) on
the Contracts Finder website on 15 February 2024, just as any other similar
procurement opportunity would be. As the Officer Report to the 28 May Cabinet
meeting shows, it produced 18 expressions of interest from organisations who
might consider bidding:
The Report does not go on to say how many of the 18 organisations
actually made a bid! This seemed odd, so I wrote to Brent’s Chief Executive,
and the Corporate Director (Partnerships, Housing and Resident Services) who
had signed off the Report, late on Friday afternoon, and asked them to let me
know the number of bids received, saying this ‘is surely not "exempt
information"!’
I received a reply, although not the answer, from the Corporate Director
on Tuesday afternoon. In brief, it said:
‘On this occasion, the number of bidders and the
sums bid are commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be disclosed. … Sharing
the number of bids received regarding this tender process could risk
prejudicing this particular procurement …. I apologise that on this occasion we
cannot disclose more information.’
Ever since I obtained copies of the tender documents back in February, I
have felt that the answer, the number of bids, might be just one (or only one
which successfully made it through the vetting process which the Council had
set out in those documents for bids received). It now seems that I will never
know for sure.
The publicly available Report recommends that Cabinet: ‘Approve the
award of a contract for Bobby More Bridge Advertising … to Quintain Ltd.’As Quintain’s Wembley Park subsidiary already
has the current advertising lease, and the advertising display screens in
place, it was always unavoidable that they would have an advantage in the
bidding process. But did the process reinforce their advantage, and if so, was
that by accident or design?
I have taken a close interest in this matter, as I was the person who in
early 2021 suggested to the Council Leader and then Chief Executive that when
the advertising lease came up for renewal it should be by competitive tender.
That should ensure the Council received the best possible income from
advertising on its Bobby Moore Bridge asset, which in turn would make it
possible to consider an option that would allow the heritage tile murals in the
subway to be put back on public display. Carolyn Downs agreed my suggestion in
March 2021.
I exchanged emails with Brent’s current Chief Executive earlier this
year, to check that the competitive tender process agreed with her predecessor
was going ahead. When she confirmed that was the case, I wrote:
‘Can I suggest, please, that the term of the lease
for which bids are invited should be five years from 31 August 2024.
There are two reasons why I believe that this makes
sense:
1. The existing advertisement consent (necessary to
be able to advertise on the Bobby Moore Bridge) runs until 16 September 2029,
so that five years from 31 August 2024 would be covered by that consent.
2. The reason why the four year lease to 30 August
2021, as approved by Cabinet, was extended by three years (at the request of
the leaseholder, Wembley Park Ltd), was to allow five years use of the new
advertising screens which the leaseholder installed in 2019. It was said that
being assured those screens could be used for five years would make their
installation commercially viable.
If any new advertising leaseholder needs to install
their own new equipment, or purchase the existing equipment from the current
leaseholder, a five year term would be more commercially attractive than a
shorter term, and make it more worthwhile to offer a good price in the tender process.’
Kim Wright replied: ‘Thank you for your suggestion and we will consider
this as part of our thinking.’ But when the ITT documents were published, this
is what they said about how long the advertising lease would be for:
One of my concerns is that the Council Officer(s) who handled this
bidding process were the same ones who handled the “secret” 2019 lease
extension, using the commercial need for five years use of the LED advertising screens
that Quintain installed as justification for changing the August 2021 end date,
on the lease which Brent’s Cabinet had approved, to August 2024! They would
understand the importance of that fifth year to potential bidders, and yet ….
When my enquiries in 2021 uncovered this lease extension, and some “very dodgy” features of it (especially over “proving” that the rent to be paid was best value), I
complained to the then Chief Executive that there appeared to be “too cosy” a
relationship between Quintain and the Council Officers involved. Were their
actions here affected by that cosiness?
If potential bidders were not put off by only having four years to generate
a profit from advertising on the Bobby Moore Bridge, after paying Brent a
guaranteed minimum annual rent, they faced completing a number of detailed
forms, and doing so within a tight time frame (by noon on 18 March). One of the
most complex was the Quality Statement, with separate forms to be submitted for
each of the two options. This was the introduction and first question on the
Option A sheet:
When you had worked your way down the form, this is what you would find at
Question 5:
Quintain would definitely have an advantage in answering this question,
as they had already installed this infrastructure in 2019. New bidders would
have to do site visits, and research about local electricity supply, before
they could start to prepare this detailed implementation plan. Yet all six of
the questions had to be answered, and all of the other forms completed as well,
otherwise your bid would be invalid (not a ‘compliant Tender response’). And
then your answers would be evaluated, by Council Officers.
I was surprised when I saw the weighting which was being applied to the
various aspects of the bids:
As the Council was supposed to be seeking the best economic return from
advertising on its Bobby Moore Bridge asset, only giving the amount offered 35%
of the overall score seemed rather low (although I don’t claim to be an expert
on procurement!). As indicated above, Quintain’s prior experience of installing
and operating advertising at the site would appear to give it a big advantage
in the Quality/Technical section, which accounted for more than half the total
score. And even though Social Value only counted for 10% of the weighting, this
included features such as local employment (I’m sure you can guess where
Wembley Park Ltd’s employees work).
I asked in my title: ‘Was the Bobby Moore Bridge advertising lease
bidding process fair?’ I still can’t answer that question, but you will
understand that I have my doubts about it.
