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

New 20-storey 770 bed student accomodation block for Wembley Park

 

Greystar Real Estate have acquired a site close to the  still under construction Union Park in Wembley Park from Quintain for an undisclosed sum. It will provide 770 student beds. Coming on top of the news of a new hotel in Olympic Way many may think local housing needs and the need to build community are being sidelined.  As planning consent was granted to Quintain in December 2022 work will start immediately with occupation of the block starting in August 2025.

 

From the Greystone Press Release:

Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality real estate, including rental housing, logistics, and life sciences, has acquired a site at Wembley Park from Quintain on behalf of its pan-European residential fund GEPE I for an undisclosed sum. 

Greystar will build a 20-storey purpose-built student accommodation development on the site comprising 770 beds alongside 7,480 sq. ft. of internal and 9,096 sq. ft. of external amenity space. The well-amenitised scheme has been designed to a BREEAM Excellent rating and features two lounges, gym, screen room, games room, private dining space, communal study area, space for socialising, cycle storage spaces, and external gardens and podiums. 

The site benefits from a 100% market rent PBSA planning consent, with planning permission obtained by Quintain in December 2022, and forms part of the wider Wembley Park regeneration programme. Demolition at the site has been completed and McAleer & Rushe has been appointed as the construction partner. On-site development will begin immediately with first occupancy from September 2025. Greystar intends to operate the asset under the Canvas brand, complementing its existing adjacent 283-bed PBSA site in the Wembley Park area.

Set within the North East Lands development, the site is part of a 12-acre district that will ultimately deliver 2,347 residential units of varying tenures next to the biodiverse seven-acre Union Park. Wembley Park is now an established neighbourhood, and an increasingly popular environment for students to live. The site is ideally located close to the iconic Wembley Stadium and only a four-minute walk to Wembley Park tube station (Jubilee and Metropolitan lines) providing easy access into Central London and its Universities. 

Greystar’s investment reflects the ongoing attractiveness of London, characterised by an acute shortage of high-quality student accommodation – and the capital’s status as the top global capital city for overseas students with its world-class universities and higher education institutions, as well as its rich culture, vibrant entertainment, and unparalleled career opportunities. 

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Video of Union Park (South) first section of Wembley Park's new park

 

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Quintain's public relations company has been keen for Wembley Matters to publish details of the new park in the Wembley Regeneration area. Claims that it is the first 'new park' in Wembley Park are not quite true as we have the excellent Chalkhill Park in the locality, but on the other side of the railway line, which is maturing very nicely and really well used by the local community.

I responded that I would like to see the park for myself rather than base a story around the photographs and CGIs provided.

However, any green space is welcome amongst the concrete of the Wembley regeneration area. The southern section, south of Engineers Way,  has a considerable amount of concrete and we are promised a 'more rugged design' for the northern section on the site of the current Yellow car park on the other side of the road. (See LINK)

Today when I visited it was chilly despite the sunshine and there were few people about so the area seemed rather dead but I imagine on a warm day children would be having a great time in the fountains. A nursery will be opening soon on the edge of the park and they will be making use of it as an outdoor play and nature investigation areas. 

It was rather disconcerting to see so much water after I had led a walk on Saturday highlighting the danger of flooding in parts of the regeneration area!

Quintain say:

Union Park features a revolutionary water run-off system, which carries rainwater from around the area, filters it, and then releases it into one of the southern section’s lakes. Water features have been an important component of Wembley Park since it was first laid out by Humphry Repton in the 1770s, with the Wealdstone Brook and Brent River framing the then-manor and now-neighbourhood.

The park features a quotation from Humphry Repton on the side of what resembles a shed but is perhaps a pumping station, that is not entirely legible:

 It reads:

'The character of a place will take its distinguishing marks from the unified consideration of its situation and the extent of territory surrounding'

This gives the reader and visitor a yardstick with which to make up their mind about the park.

Quintain's press release said:

The first part of the park, which is open now, features amenities including a play park, paddling pools, outdoor gym equipment – which will be an extension of the super-gym right beside it – and a multi-use games area which will enable people to play a number of sports in view of the world-famous Wembley Stadium arch.

There is an adjacent cafe  at the foot of one of the high rises which is welcome but given the continuous sound of water, which is likely to induce a sense of urgency in bladders,  and the need for a place where wet children can change into dry clothes,  a public lavatory might be useful.

The park is not yet finished so there may well be one planned.

If you would like to see the park for yourself go along Olympic Way from Wembley Park Station and turn left along Engineers Way. It is a short walk to the Yellow Car Park and Union Park South is opposite. 

I would be interested in your comments on the park.

Philip Grant has left a comment  below and asked me to publish these images by way of explanation.

Postcard showing the North Entrance Gardens at Wembley Park in 1924

Painting of the gardens at the east end of the Lake in 1924/25 (now the southern section of Union Park)