HS2 Upcoming works at Canterbury Works site, South Kilburn. Information events February 26th

 HS2 not over yet...

Video: Leslie Barson speaks on 'South Kilburn: Resistance and Community'

 

 

Leslie Barson, of Granville Community Kitchen in South Kilburn, a long-time community activist, spoke at the 'Unravelling Regeneration - Stories of a Community' Metroland Exhibition last month.

This is a first hand account of the impact of regeneration on the lives of local people and on the community resources that have supported them over the years.

South Kilburn: A story of resistance and community - Saturday January 25th - Kilburn Square

 

I popped into the exhibition this afternoon as I am not sure if I can make the talk tomorrow afternoon. The exhibition goes back as far as the slum clearances of the 1950s and tells the story of a strong community engaged in resistance to plans for their area which again and again have been imposed often with negative results.

1959 Willesden Corporations ets conditions for rehousing after slum clearance

1985 challenging the Council's public relations leaflet. If it wasn't for the typewritten copy printed on a Roneo or Gestetner printer the tenant's reply could have been written yesterday.

Leaflet against the infamous ballot on regeneration

In the middle of it all has been Granville Community  Kitchen fighting for and recording the loss of community assets. Empowering people through food!

 

The community spirit that refused to be silenced is clear in a range of photographs and event advertising.

 EXHIBITION DETAILS

Location: Metroland Studios, 91 Kilburn Sq, London NW6 6PS
(Behind Kilburn Market) off Kilburn High Road
 

Go down the alley next to Argos and you will see us across the square. Ring the bell to get in.

Saturday | 25 January 2025
Community Soup Session: 1-5pm

Talk: Regeneration History of South Kilburn: 12-3pm

Sunday | 26 January 2025
Workshop: Weaving Our South Kilburn: 2-3:30pm

South Kilburn: Capri Jiang: Unravelling Regeneration: Stories of a Community - Exhibition and Events

 

From Granville Community Kitchen

The hidden stories and voices behind South Kilburn’s regeneration programmes, exploring themes of displacement, resilience, and community activism. 

VENUE: 

Location: Metroland Studios, 91 Kilburn Sq, London NW6 6PS 

(Behind Kilburn Market) off Kilburn High Road

Go down the alley next to Argos and you will see us across the square. Ring the bell to get in.

Exhibition 22– 26 January 2025 12-5pm

Events:
Wednesday | 22 January 2025
Launch 6-8pm
Echoes of South Kilburn – Opening Performance: 6:30pm

Saturday | 25 January 2025
Community Soup Session: 1-5pm
Talk: Regeneration History of South Kilburn: 12-3pm

Sunday | 26 January 2025
Workshop: Weaving Our South Kilburn: 2-3:30pm

MetrolandCultures is pleased to host our neighbour and artist Capri Jiang to present work featuring a visual timeline of archives and an installation uncovering narratives of loss and resistance while inviting visitors to envision South Kilburn’s future together.

Communal spaces are essential for fostering connections and building a sense of community. Accessible and versatile community spaces play a crucial role in nurturing solidarity and resilience within neighbourhoods. However, over the past few decades, regeneration programs have resulted in the widespread loss of multipurpose spaces. This, coupled with rising rent, poor construction quality, and the uncertainty of future costs, has created a precarious environment for residents, forcing many to relocate and destabilising community life.

In response to these challenges, residents and organisations have mobilised to protest and resist the master plans driving this upheaval. This exhibition emerges from that context, shedding light on the untold stories of the community impacted by these regeneration programs. It highlights how individuals, organisations, and the collective community have been stripped of their voices, their right to adequate living spaces, and their ability to sustain a vibrant community spirit. At the same time, it showcases their resilience and efforts to fight back against these injustices.

Through this exhibition, you will explore the realities of the regeneration programme from the perspectives of individuals, organisations, and the urban landscape. The narrative unfolds through a visualised timeline of community archives and a woven cityscape installation. Visitors are invited to actively participate by contributing to the co-creation of a blueprint for the future of South Kilburn.

About Capri Jiang

Capri Jiang is a London based designer and researcher using design as a language to co-create with people. Capri is also the Project coordinator of Granville Community Kitchen – at the heart of its community in South Kilburn the kitchen is a place of repair, resilience, resistance and safety. GCK works within a healing justice framework with activities promoting the holistic repair and wellbeing of community. GCK’s activities respond to the needs of a diverse South Kilburn community, building resilience by building the capacity of people from marginalised groups, and challenges oppression, power and privilege.

https://granvillecommunitykitchen.org.uk

Zoë Garbett Green Assembly Member to London Mayor: You are ignoring the reality of estate regeneration

 This may resonate with South Kilburn residents:

Shortly after handing in a petition from residents of the Lesnes Estate for the Mayor to ‘call-in’ the proposed development, Zoë Garbett AM questioned the Mayor over his failure to acknowledge how much he has ignored the reality of Londoners suffering through the city’s ongoing estate regeneration.

Quoting lived experience of those residents from the Thamesmead estate, Zoë pointed to the real-life impacts of estate regeneration on individuals and communities across the city, drawing on their awful living conditions, uncertainty, and displacement.

Following the exchange, Green Party London Assembly Member Zoë Garbett said:

Estate regeneration is displacing Londoners, ripping communities apart with no accountability for the developers and landlords tasked with improving housing across our city. Refurbishment should always be the default option.

Estate regeneration can drag on for years, decades even. There are very few safeguards to make sure this doesn’t happen. It's a lottery – and the Mayor needs to listen to residents to prevent more councils, housing associations and developers embarking on more disastrous regeneration schemes.

My biggest thanks to the residents of the Lesnes Estate for showing me around their community, and for forcing this issue onto the Mayor’s desk before the crisis gets any further out of hand.

In response to the concerns raised, the Mayor said:

I’ll undertake today to get my Deputy for Housing to look into this issue, but also to work with you, Zoë, to try and ameliorate the circumstances [residents] are living under.

To view the full exchange, please click here

Vistry shares plunge after further profits warning. Will this impact on subsidiary Countryside's Brent developments?

An earlier deal

 

 Vistry, the parent of Countryside that is responsible for several housing developments in Brent. including in Northwick Park and South Kilburn, has issued its third annual profits warning in as many months. They now expect profits of £250m compared with £419m last year.

Today the share price fell by 16.2%  in half-day trading.

Countryside building for Sovereign Network Group in Northwick Park

 

The company said that it has dropped various deals because they were not 'sufficiently attractive'. There is speculation that this might mean that they will not bid for the 'single developer' role that Brent Council is seeking for the remainder of the South Kilburn Regeneration.  There may also be  knock-on effect on tenure of the developments currently underway when viability is reviewed.

Another South Kilburn disaster revealed - £15m claim on Swift House and George House goes to mediation

 

Before remediation work above and remediation work in progress below

 

 

A plaque amongst the remediation materials

Construction News LINK reports on another building disaster in South Kilburn. London and Quadrant (L&Q) had made a £15m claim against Bouygues UK and this will now go to mediation.

Swift House and George House in Albert Road were built by Denne Construction in 2010-11 at a cost of £35m.  Bouygues took over Denne's liabilities when it acquired the company in 2016.

Denne were also responsible for Bourne Place in South Kilburn.

Construction News reports L&Q's claim that both buildings (Swift House and George House) with a total of 286 flats and maisonettes were 'defective and dangerous' including use of the aluminium composite material (ACM) exposed by the Grenfell fire,

L & Q said that after they removed the cladding in September 2018 they found a number of other fire safety and structural issues including 'inadequately specified and wrongly installed insulation' that would have  allowed fire and smoke to penetrate the buildings. 

They also found over-stressing and movement of the cladding support frames across both buildings.

Construction News gives a full account in its story LINK.

As with Grenfell, residents have raised issues about the quality of building on South Kilburn over the last few years LINK, and Wembley Matters published an overview in May this year LINK.

Readers will recall the case of Granville New Homes purchased from the developer by Brent Council and cost more than the purchase price in remediation works LINK . The council had argued that it was not possible to get compensation for the defects but reportedly a claim may now be in prospect.

This now comes under the remit  of Muhammed Butt, who as well as being Council Leader  is also Cabinet Lead for Housing, Regeneration, Planning and Growth.

A South Kilburn resident, reacting to the latest debacle said:

Yet another example of shoddy building work being done during the regeneration of South Kilburn, A fact that Brent Council denies, instead repeatedly talking about the awards given by planners and architects to planners and architects for their brilliant work. I wonder how much compensation the builders are intending to pass to residents who have had to live with scaffolding blocking out their light for many years as well as the fear that goes with living in buildings which could go up like the Grenfell tower.

 

Shama Tatler ends her Brent Cabinet career speaking about the troubled South Kilburn Regeneration - video

Brent Council tries to stop South Kilburn regeneration from hitting the buffers via a single developer and more private homes

 

The map shows how many sites are still to be developed 20 years after the 2004 Masterplan.

 

The South Kilburn Regeneration began as a concept in the late 1990s, with the New Deal for Communities adopted in 2001.

The first South Kilburn Masterplan was approved on the 12th July 2004 so the project has been going for 20 years and completion may take at least another ten.

The Minutes of the 12th July Executive Meeting show that non-Executive members were concerned that the Masterplan had not gone to the Scrutiny Committee. LINK

Tomorrow's Cabinet starts at 10am and South Kilburn is Item 12 out of 15 items LINK. The meeting will be livestreamed HERE.

Cabinet will be asked to approve a new chapter with the council seeking a single developer rather than a multiplicity of developers for the sites that remain. They include Queens Park & Cullen House, William Dunbar House and William Saville House, Masefield House, Wordsworth House and Dickens House, Craik Court, Crone Court and Zangwill House, Hereford House and Exeter Court, Austin House and Blake Court and John Radcliffe House.  

The Cabinet are told that Early Pre-market Engagement has indicated interest from several companies to take on the very large task with attendant risks in the current climate. Economies of scale are cited as an advantage but there are still risks regarding viability

The regeneration programme is based on the cross-subsidy model where the receipts from market housing funds the delivery of affordable housing, social and public infrastructure.  It is however notable that the programme has up until now benefitted from rapidly rising sales values as regeneration improved the area, but the sales values are now flattening out. 

Meanwhile construction cost inflation has risen steeply and continues to remain high, this alongside the recent regulatory changes, specifically the second staircase, is putting viability under extreme pressures. Also, interest rate rises have affected both development market and purchaser demand. Affordability of the programme is expected to remain challenging and will need to be carefully monitored and robustly managed.

There are still tenants waiting to be rehoused on the estate in line with the Landlord Promise made by the Council that they would be rehoused on the estate. It appears that 164 will have to wait until after 2028:

933 tenants have been permanently rehoused in a new home in South Kilburn. Approximately 200 tenants have been permanently rehoused outside South Kilburn in a new build or an existing home around the borough in areas such as Harlesden, Willesden, Cricklewood, Willesden Green, Kensal Rise, Kensal Green, Brondesbury and Kilburn. 

 At time of writing there are 284 tenants across Austin, Blake, Dickens, Craik, Crone, Zangwill, John Radcliffe, William Dunbar and William Saville remaining to be rehoused. 120 of the 284 will have the opportunity to be rehoused between 2025 and 2028 in the developments under construction at NWCC, C&G and Peel. The rehousing team is working with tenants at Austin, Blake and Dickens as a priority for the next phase of rehousing as these blocks are in the poorest condition.

The report is franker that previously about the difficulties encountered, partly in support of the single developer proposal:

 In a small number of developments however residents have experienced disruptive build quality issues. At Granville New Homes, Franklin, Chase and Hollister House, there have been issues with water leakage, supply of hot water and heating, poor workmanship and use of poor-quality material. Elsewhere, at Merle Court and George and Swift House fire safety issues with cladding has required significant remediation works.  

Multiplicity of landlords and managing agents arising from the site-by-site development model is also reflected in the inconsistent and variable standards of management and maintenance of the public realm across the neighbourhood and sometimes on opposite sides of the street. This inconsistent approach has marred the community's experience of living, working and visiting South Kilburn.  

Parts of South Kilburn have a concentration of sites at various stages of redevelopment - sites which are hoarded up and under construction, sites which are part or fully vacant. There areas have been experiencing increased levels of anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping and squatting. Alongside this is the noise, dust, vibration, and traffic disruption arising from the construction itself.  

Whilst these are the inevitable consequences of large-scale, long-term regeneration programmes, it presents significant disruption to the day-to-day experience of residents and erodes their sense of safety, community and ownership.

21. The delivery programme as set out in the 2016 Masterplan review has been delayed due to economic and viability challenges and recent regulatory changes requiring extensive design amendments. Beyond the sites which are currently under construction there is no future pipeline of new homes. For residents (tenants and leaseholders) remaining in the existing blocks the uncertainty of not knowing when and where they are going to move is frustrating, particularly for residents living in overcrowded and poor quality homes.

For viability there will be an increase in the private homes quota as well as an increase in densification.

According to the 2016 Masterplan, the remaining sites can provide a further 1,400 homes. An initial review of the Masterplan has indicated that there are opportunities for optimisation, densification to deliver more housing The remainder of programme will include a higher percentage of private housing to re- balance the overall distribution of housing tenure and front loading of affordable homes provision in the earlier phases of the programme. The level of private housing will be critical to the viability of future phases.

 

There is never much discussion, and certainly not debate, at Cabinet - that is all done in private with officers at a private pre-Cabinet meeting, so this complex and risky proposal is likely to go through in a few minutes. It is important that Scrutiny Commitee (unlike in 2005) considers it at the appropriate time.

 

No sole developer yet for South Kilburn as number of social homes set to reduce

 

 

South Kilburn Masterplan (The Guardian)

 

Guest post by a South Kilburn resident

Report of South Kilburn Regeneration meeting held on the 18th September 2024.

 

The council announced that they have not appointed a sole developer yet for all the remaining sites of the South Kilburn Regeneration programne.

Currently there are  3 sites being developed with:

(1) 46 social homes for rent out of a total of 328 homes at The Peel site 

(2) 72 social homes for rent out of a total of 209 at the NWCC`sit

(3) 18 homes for social rent at the Granville/Carton site but I do not know the total number of remaining homes.

 

(NWCC is Neville, Winstanley, the Carlton Centre and some of Carlton House).

The South Kilburn Promise was to provide a 50\50 ratio of social homes to other tenures but at these 3 sites the numbers of social homes has fallen way below the 50% ratio.  Also the overall aim of the South Kilburn regeneration is to increase the number of social homes in South Kilburn by 800 by the end of the programm but this target may not be achieved either.

The next site to be developed will be The Hereford & Exeter site but not until 2026 as the council are still discussing with the GLA over funding issues and it would also need the sole developer to be appointed to develop the site.`

All the remaining sites are waiting to go to planning with the next one being The CCZ site being submitted in 2025. (CCZ is Craik, Crone & Zangwill House.)

Finally, there are still 284 tenants waiting for a new home in South Kilburn.

The council also reported on anti- social behaviour issues at Unity Place which only opened in 2019. They have appointed two Block Champions to monitor Unity Place, which has over 300 tenants and leaseholders living there.

Before the first Masterplan was published in 2004 the council said that developing the South Kilburn estate would eradicate all the anti-social behavour elements living there at the time. Something seems to have gone wrong as antisocial behaviour issues are rampant across the estate.

Appointing unpaid tenants as Block Champions to deal with all the issues affecting South Kilburn blocks  will not solve the problem and what we need is more police to visit the estate, along with council safety teams on a regular basis.

Mega re-development site for South Kilburn to maximise site capacity

 From Brent Council

 

Blake Court

 

Austen House and Blake Court

We are excited to announce the proposed integration of the Austen and Blake sites with the neighbouring MWD site (Masefield House, Wordsworth House, Dickens House, Kilburn Open Space, and Carlton Vale Infant School), a pivotal step in maximizing site capacity and enhancing project viability.

Initially conceived as separate schemes, these sites are now being considered as a single, cohesive redevelopment effort aimed at delivering a transformative impact on the local community.

Project Vision

This combined redevelopment aims to create a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive community. The proposed plans will introduce:

• mix of new residential units
• Community facilities
• Green spaces, fostering a dynamic urban environment that caters to the needs of existing and future residents.

Design and Sustainability

Leading architectural firm Karakusevic Carson Architects along with the London Borough of Brent are spearheading the design efforts. The integration of Austen and Blake with the MWD site will ensure a seamless blend of modern architecture, sustainable practices, and community-oriented spaces.

Key design elements include:

• Diverse mix of housing tenures, including affordable units, to accommodate South Kilburn residents.
• Thoughtfully designed public spaces and green areas that encourage social interaction and foster a sense of community.
• Preservation of mature trees and implementation of green building practices to minimize environmental impact.

The redevelopment will also include the construction of a replacement primary school, providing state-of-the-art educational facilities for children aged 3-11. The school will feature provisions for a nursery and support for children with special educational needs, ensuring an inclusive learning environment.

Community Engagement

We are committed to involving the local community throughout the redevelopment process. Regular consultations and feedback sessions will be held in due course to ensure that the project aligns with the aspirations and needs of the residents.

Timescales

The planning application for the combined Austen and Blake and MWD site redevelopment is anticipated to be submitted in the first quarter of 2025. The development will be phased, with the first phase expected to be completed by late 2028.

Stay tuned for more updates as we embark on this exciting journey together.

 

A South Kilburn resident notes:

Over a 100 tenants are still living in the 5 buildings  and are waiting to be decanted. The council cannot develop the scheme until every building is empty.

Currently the demolition notice for Blake Court is due to expire by June 2025 so I assume the Council will need to rehouse the  remaining tenants as soon as possible in order to demolish it.

The replacement school for Kilburn Park Junior and Carlton Vale Infants, as a primary school, may prove controversial, particularly in terms of viable pupil numbers.

LETTER: Cllr Butt, this is no laughing matter. South Kilburn residents held in contempt

 

Alpha House, South Kilburn

Dear Editor,

The Brent and Kilburn Times recently splashed an article about conditions at Alpha House in South Kilburn LINK. I wrote a letter to them about the way Brent Council treats its residents but unfortunately it was not published.

This is what I wrote:

Thank you for highlighting the scandal of how Brent Council treats residents of our flats. The fact that Council leader Mohammed Butt can say that grass and bushes have now been - badly - cut does not alter the fact that residents were given several different dates when it would happen and it didn't. On other occasions we got no response at all to queries, as was the case when we asked about the scaffolding on Alpha House. Numerous enquiries by TRA officers and residents simply went unanswered. 

 

Councillor Butt's comment that we should make a complaint is ridiculous when we have already made known our concern to numerous council officers, councillors and our new MP with no substantive response. Indeed, when I saw Cllr Butt recently and raised the issue with him, he just laughed.

 

Such is the contempt with which Brent Council holds residents of its properties.

 

Pete Firmin, chair, Alpha, Gorefield and Canterbury Tenants and Residents Association.

Hereford House/Exeter Court at Planning Committee on Wednesday offers fewer social homes than at present.

 

Existing Hereford House and Exeter Court

 The planned new buildings

The long awaited plans for the South Kilburn Hereford House and Exeter Court site in South Kilburn, where Brent Council is the developer, come to Brent Planning Committee on Wednesday. The number of social units is lower thatn previously provided and intermediate units have been converted to rpivate as a result of the viability assessment.

The development proposes the demolition of the existing Hereford House and Exeter Court buildings and the construction of four new residential buildings ranging from 3-13 storeys, the provision of flexible non-residential floorspace at ground floor of Block C1, a new public urban park and new access road along the western side of the site, cycle and blue badge car parking and associated infrastructure. An overview of each area is summarised below:

Block A:

A six storey mansion block fronting Granville Road. The building contains a total of 42 social rent homes (8 x 1 bed, 11 x 2 bed, 15 x 3 bed and 8 x 4 bed). The building has rear balconies and access to the rear private communal courtyard shared with Blocks B and C. A residential lobby, refuse stores and cycle stores are provided at ground floor.

Block B:

A six storey mansion block fronting Carlton Vale. The building contains a total of 68 market homes ( 34 x 1 bed, 22 x 2 bed and 12 x 3 bed). The building has rear balconies and access to the private communal courtyard shared with Blocks A and C. A residential lobby, refuse stores are provided at ground floor

Block C:

Block C consists of two blocks C1 (13 storeys) and C2 (nine storeys) connected by a one storey ground floor that fills the footprint and bridges the two block. The building fronts the public park. The building contains a total of 124 homes. C1 contains all market homes (45 x 1 bed and 28 x 2 bed) while C2 contains 51 social rent homes (29 x 1 bed, 20 x 2 bed and 2 x 3 bed). The ground floor contains a large glazed shared lobby which divides into a market residential lobby and social rent lobby, a commercial unit of 135 sqm, refuse stores and cycle stores. A basement would be constructed to provide addition cycle storage for Blocks A, B and C. The building has balconies on each corner of the block and has access to the private communal courtyard shared with Blocks A and B.

Block D

A row of three storey terraced houses with fourth storey pop-up elements. The building fronts the access route on Granville Road. Block D creates 16 social rent homes (8 x 4 bed and 8 x 5 bed). Each house has a front and rear garden with separate refuse and cycle storage.

The plans have been revised as a result of fire regulation changes, demand changes and the viability assessment (my highlighting):

A number of amendments were made to the scheme as a result of comments raised by officers and the GLA/ TfL during the course of the consultation exercise as well as updates to Fire Safety Regulation and changes in viability.

The main changes to the scheme when compared to the initially submitted scheme are a result of updates to Fire Safety Regulation Standards and London Plan Guidance. This effected the internal and external arrangement of Blocks A, B and C. The alterations also alter the housing layouts on the residential floors of the proposed blocks and changes at ground floor level to communal and ancillary spaces in order to accommodate the different core geometry.

The housing tenure and unit mix was also reviewed. The South Kilburn Housing Need Assessment review identified that a larger number of smaller units are required to facilitate the decant of residents from future phases of the masterplan. The Hereford and Exeter project continued to face significant viability issues. The intermediate affordable units have been removed from the scheme in lieu of private tenure units. The provision of social rent affordable housing has therefore been maximised for those most in need and assists the viability position for the scheme.

As a result of these amendments a number of updates were required to the scheme:

· The change in unit numbers, size and tenure mean that there is a slight reduction in child yield and therefore the required play space provision

· The increase in the footprint of the buildings to accommodate fire safety requirements has resulted in a reduction to the soft landscaping measures within the private courtyard and Urban Greening Factor score

· A slight reduction in size of the Public Open Space provided at 2,400 sqm

· Increase in quantum of cycle parking spaces

· The daylight, sunlight and overshadowing assessment has been updated to reflect the alterations to the massing

· The commercial and residential refuse arrangements have been changed to reflect the new layouts

The number of social homes on the site is reduced from 150 to 109 (from 90% to 44%)

Officers justify the changes:

Of the existing 167 residential units, 150 are affordable dwellings (100% social rent). These will be replaced with 250 dwellings of which there will be 109 affordable dwellings (All social rent). Although there would be 41 less affordable dwellings than existing, there is a significant increase in the provision of family sized dwellings and an increase in floorspace. 

In addition, the scheme includes the provision of 16 four-bed homes and 8 five-bedroom homes that have the capacity to house larger families which is a benefit given the existing site does not have any provision.

Locals familiar with flooding problems on the estate will be interested in the section on flooding:

In terms of infiltration techniques, surface water runs off from paved surfaces within the site towards landscape planting, rain gardens, tree pits and permeable pavements. In day-to-day rainfall, the absorption, evaporation and infiltration of surface water through the Sustainable Drainage System features will fully drain paved areas within the site. However, owing to the typically poor permeability of the site’s geology (made ground on London Clay), the infiltration rate of the ground beneath the SuDS features would not be sufficient to drain the site in severe storm events. Gullies and slot drains are therefore also utilized to supplement the SuDS features. The attenuation of rainwater in ponds or open water features was not considered to be feasible for the development. Surface water overflows from SuDS features will drain into the below ground drainage system and attenuated in tanks for gradual release to the sewer system. There are no watercourses suitably located within vicinity of the site to receive run off. The local sewer network is combined. It is proposed that surface water is continued to discharge to the existing combined water network in the vicinity of the site.

 

Image from the Design Statement