Wembley Place in the High Road - beyond a joke!

New developments and regeneration in Wembley Park, Alperton and South Kilburn get a lot of attention but Wembley High Road is also being steadily redeveloped.  In this guest blog a local  resident looks at some disturbing issues in a new development on the High Road.

 

Perhaps whilst everyone is banging on about parking etc let’s look at Wembley High Road. Wembley Place was built by Henley Homes  the very same contractor that closed the High Road for months having pumped 25 metres of concrete into the sewer when piling) now operated by Genesis Notting Hill.  I believe they are responsible for the social housing (45) flats above Sainsbury's and shared ownership above Costa Coffee.  Not sure who operates the remainder which is private, block is at the back overlooking Copland Fields.

 

Since complaining that the gates were never open to the service areas when everyone and their mother is parking in Ecclestone Place opposite  to facilitate their deliveries, it would now appear that said gate is now broken and hasn't been closed for months.  

 

 

This results in a theoretical "Car Free Development" where the  majority of residents who own cars are now freely parking along the service road.  I counted approximately 18 vehicles when I took the photographs for this article.  

 

 

When I saw people moving I asked if they were residents – the answer was,  “Yes, the gate doesn't work and it's easy to park here without any problem.”

 

 

I also noted that the disabled bays of which there are 20 were also nearly full, and have it on good authority from a resident of the private block which is above it that only about 4/5 have permits and it is rumoured some residents are using their relatives and friends to gain a space.  This area has now been reduced due to scaffolding, which brings me on to my next item.

 

Since shortly after completion in Easter of 2020 and the retail units being fitted out and leased to Costa and Sainsburys, scaffolding went up around the ground level of all the three blocks.  You will note it's under every section where there are greyish oblong bricks.  

 

Now from when it went up, well over 18 months ago, nobody has been seen working on it.  The only person I have spoken to is the guy that comes and puts up the permits and checks the security of it.  I asked the scaffolders as to what is happening and they informed me that these bricks/cladding has been installed incorrectly and there is fear that they may fall off and injure someone.  As the scaffolding is at low level there does not seem to be anyone in a rush to repair it/remove/remedy the situation.  

 

 

But the best joke is, outside Costa on the area where they have installed seating on the "Piazza" adjacent to where our "Water Feature" was supposed to be installed but never happened.  There is no scaffolding and scaffolders have not been told to erect there, so god help the fans and patrons of Costa who may be injured if one falls off!

 

You might also observe the Heras Fencing which has been there forever, along with the security gates to enter the development. None of this was shown in the artist’s impression of the development.

 

 

As for the play area, it is unusable for the kids as it's full of scaffolding and despite the fact it was 20% down on the recommended amenity space in the first place. Coplands Fields still remain locked off to everyone, despite being "public land". We were told it only required 10% of the space to build the new school but they have given St Josephs RC School and Elsley Primary some to expand to for forms of entry - the rest remains fenced off to the public.  

 

I really need Carolyn Downs to answer an FOI as to why this is so.  I have ear-ached Muhammed Butt and Krupa Sheth to no avail, and cannot get a sensible answer from either of them.............something is not right.

 

 

If you care about Wembley Central get along to this exhibition on Saturday and make your views known

 

Fairgate House today

 

 

The building that will replace it

 

EXHIBITION SATURDAY APRIL 9th 10AM-1PM

 

 4TH FLOOR, UJIMA HOUSE

388 HIGH ROAD, HA9 6AR

 

A handful of locals attended the first exhibition of the proposals for the redevelopment of Fairgate House and Pitman House in High Road, Wembley . In the unlikely surroundings of Stonebridge Boxing Club (punchbags may come in  handy) in Ujima House, a few easels displayed panels outlining the proposals that are still at an early stage.

 

There have been pre-application meetings between the developer Regal  and Brent planners but the PR agency insisted that there was still much to play for.

They encountered a sceptical audience who had seen their area transformed by concrete blocks with little benefit to long-term residents. Residents were particularly concerned that early promise of community facilities at the 'Twin Towers' on the Chesterfield House site, now marketed as 'Uncle' did not come to fruition and the Bowling Club pavilion in King Eddie's park is not available to the community. 'How can you build a community when there is nowhere for the community to meet?'

 

 

 

The agency said that this was a need that they could convery to Regal but there were doubts over the potential for shared student-community. The company that took managment of the building of the building may not be sympathetic even if the developer was. 

Roof terrace

 

Other developers' promises of accessible outdoor space had come to nothing with the spaces provided scrappy, litter strewn and inaccessible to the public.  Would the roof garden survive into the final stages of planning?

 

Clearly the current Fairgate House has little or no architectural merit but will it's replacement really make most of the opportunity offered by its demolition?

 

 Distribution of student accommodation

 

Residents also questioned the building's function as student accommodation asking what the area offered to students compared with the Quintain development in Wembley Park.  The agency was unable to provide evidence  there and then of the demand for such accommodation in Wembley Central but said that the developer must have done some research to establish the viability of the proposal.  There was scepticism over the ease of student travel into central London given the poor quality of service and frequency of the ageing Bakerloo line compared with the Jubilee.

 

The  context of the development is important as it is part of an 'intensification corridor 'and close to the the 'tall building zones' designated in Brent's new Local Plan. There is a continuous ribbon of new development starting at the massive Quintain, Wembley Park,  site reaching down to Wembley Stadium station and along High Road to the Twin Towers with additional buildings  further along around Wembley Central station. Then Ealing Road leads to the very dense high rise developments in Alperton.

Any opposition gains are likely to be limited to tweaks in plans rather than outright rejection.

The large bulky yellow building in the above image is to be built on the former Copland school site and will face the proposed Fairgate House development. Together the two sides of the High Road will present a sort of concrete canyon with less distance between the two sides of the road than you find on a European boulevard.

I pointed out at the exhibition the 3 storey buildings that line the High Road on the left side of the picture and wondered how  long they would survive. As you can see the blue high rises being built next to the Chiltern railway line tower over the low rise on that side of the road.

This image would make more sense if you could also see the heights of the buildings on the  west side of the High Road.

 

What was obvious from our vantage on the 4th Floor of Ujima House was the loss of vegetation on the  High Road side of the Chiltern Line compared with the suburban side. The High Road side has lost much of what was a 'green corridor' and more is likely to go with the developments in the pipeline despite promises of a 'linear park'.

 

 Between the railway and High Road

The view across to the other side of the railway line, trees and shrubs still intact on the bank

 

Opposite Ujima and Fairgate House is the huge ex-Copland School site where the yellow building in the above 'Emerging Context' illustration will be built - a prime example of densification along with the nearby Brent House development.

The ex-Copland School site

 

On leaving the area I was struck by two of the children's paintings that adorn the green hoarding around the Copland site.

 

They rather neatly sum up the different views of Wembley's future.

 

 

What's going on and off Wembley High Road? Latest photographs and some questions

From our very local correspondent

Elizabeth House work is almost complete except for a few bits on the ground floor, all the scaffolding has gone and cladding replaced.

Next door, Wembley Place (old Brent House site) was completed and signed off in Easter 2020, although no one moved in until October 2020 and that was just the Social Housing portion.  There are two retail outlets on the Ground Floor, Costa Coffee, and a Sainsbury's Local.  It was not long after Sainsbury's had been shopfitted and ready for opening that scaffolding went up outside and around various parts on the ground floor.  On asking residents and Sainsbury's recently as to why it's there, nobody seems to know!  I have never witnessed anyone working on any parts.  Rumours abound.  1) that balconies glass is not safe? 2) some cladding bricks were loose and falling off?  No one really seems to know, perhaps you can do some detective work?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our three trees have been removed from the Triangle and replaced with some large wooden planters?  What's that about?

 

Last week I saw several workmen digging out the places where trees once were on the High Road to install new ones!!! Obviously of the right kind???? and it would appear that Brent have added some new Urban Art in Electric Orange colour warning Paan Spitters that they could be fined £100.  Interestingly I spoke to Brent  Enforcement Officer  who said despite working for them for 3 years and Paan Spitting being one of his big bug bears like the rest of us, no matter that he has tried relentlessly he has never been able to catch a perpetrator in the act. LOL.  I think it mostly happens at night.

 

 

Behind the Twin Towers (developer's name 'Uncle and the site of Chesterfield House) two more blocks are going up, one of 17 storeys and 1 of 19, being constructed by Henrys (same as twin towers) with same developer "Squarestone Hub"  I think on planning it's listed as the Wembley Link, you will see from photos they continue to build on the Chiltern railway cutting as it has been purchased by them.  The view from the back of my house shows that they have built in front of the gap between the twin towers which will definitely obscure most of the sunlight when it sets in the West.  It's funny because these towers are directly behind Daniels, Nando's etc and cannot be seen if you are  on  the High Road at all.  

 

Uncle have at least 4 retail units which they appear to be struggling to let.  I have not seen any activity in any of them, perhaps they are too expensive to lease, and also they will require a full shopfit which is not cheap.  I'm surprised that one of the Coffee lot haven't taken one of them but considering there are now 3 Costa's in Wembley plus one next door called Chico Nero, and then Shakes and Bagel's across the road, perhaps too much competition.

 

On another note, what happened to the Community Centre supposed to be located at Ground Floor Level of Uncle, under the 21 storey tower.  I noticed it's now occupied by a company called Little Village which is a foodbank come recycling clothes for babies and toddlers? I  couldn't get access and couldn't find anyone to talk to.

 

Also their landscaping is looking past its sell by date, isn't planning supposed to monitor that, to ensure it's kept up to date?

 

(Lack of) affordable homes at Brent Council’s Cecil Avenue development – Cllr. Tatler’s response, and a consequent challenge to councillors

Guest post from Philip Grant

As Martin reported last month, Cllr. Shama Tatler missed the Full Council meeting on 22 November, so was not there to answer my supplementary question about the (lack of) affordable Council housing proposed for Brent’s Cecil Avenue development, on the vacant former Copland School site. I had not been satisfied with the original answer to my Public Question on the subject.

 

A written answer from the Lead Member for regeneration was promised, but a subsequent Member’s Question (from the Leader of the opposition), on whether the written response to me would be circulated to all members of the Council, did not appear to receive an answer. 

 

I have now received that written response (I will ask Martin to attach a copy below), and to ensure that all councillors do have the chance to consider it, I have circulated the document to them with the following email. I am sharing that email publicly, so that any Brent resident can ask their local councillors how they have responded to the points raised by my question, and Cllr. Tatler’s “answer” to it:-

Cllr. Tatler’s response to question on affordable Council housing at Cecil Avenue

Dear Brent Council Members,

 

At the Full Council meeting on 22 November, your colleague Cllr. Shama Tatler was not available to answer my supplementary Public Question about affordable Council housing at Brent Council’s Cecil Avenue development (on the vacant, Council-owned, former Copland School site in Wembley). 

 

I received her written response on 7 December, and as it is unclear whether this has been circulated to all members of the Council, I am sending you a copy now. I believe that this matter raises important points, and you may wish to share your views on them with the Lead Member for Regeneration.

 

As well as the response, it is best that you know the question that she was meant to be answering (because I do not think that they key points have been answered). This was my supplementary question: 

 

‘Brent urgently needs more affordable Council homes, and it could be building 250 of these at Cecil Avenue now.

 

 

But only 37 of the 250 in your plans will be for affordable rent, while 152 will be for private sale by a developer.

 

Some of the £111million GLA grant could be used to provide social rent housing there.

Instead, you plan to use it for infill schemes on existing Council estates, which may be years away.

 

What justification will you give for these plans, when asked by families who’ll have to wait much longer for a decent home, and existing residents who’ll lose the green spaces on their estates?’

 

In an article published in the “Brent & Kilburn Times” on 18 November your colleague, Cllr. Ketan Sheth, wrote:

 

'The value and cost of land in London is at an all time high: therefore, building on land already owned by the council means the building costs are lower and all of the new homes can be let at genuinely affordable rents.'

 

But under the proposals for Cecil Avenue, approved by Cabinet on 16 August, and for which Cllr. Tatler is the Lead Member, only 37 of the 250 homes will be for London Affordable Rent, and none will be for Social Rent (which the Brent Poverty Commission Report in 2020 said should be the Council’s priority for genuinely affordable homes).

 

The attached response from Cllr. Tatler makes a similar point about the importance of using Council-owned land to provide affordable homes:

 

‘Many of the current and planned future developments containing affordable housing will be on ‘re-purposed’ council owned sites that mean there is no acquisition cost and that because of ownership, schemes can be developed at pace.’

 

The ‘council owned site’ at Cecil Avenue is vacant, and full planning consent for the 250-home project was granted in February 2021. The scheme there could ‘be developed at pace’ for affordable Council homes, but under Brent’s current proposals 152 of the new homes there will be for private sale by a “developer partner”.

 

This is how I (and, I suspect, many other Brent residents) see the Council’s current proposals for the Cecil Avenue development:-

 

This image is a parody of the Council’s publicity photographs for its “New Council Homes in Brent” programme, but the point it is making is a serious one.

 

Do you want the citizens of our borough to see the hypocrisy that the Council’s current proposals display? Perhaps ask yourself the question which I put to Cllr. Tatler:

 

‘What justification will you give for these plans, when asked by families who’ll have to wait much longer for a decent home, and existing residents who’ll lose the green spaces on their estates?’

 

If you agree that the current proposals for the Cecil Avenue site don’t seem right, please share your views on them with the Lead Member and the Strategic Director for Regeneration. Thank you. Best wishes,

 

Philip Grant
(a long-time Brent resident, with no party-political allegiance)

 

 

LETTER: Money spent on Wembley High Road fancy paving could have been better used to tackle dangerous pavements elsewhere

 Dear Wembley Matters Editor

The pavements in Wembley High Road were last upgraded at large cost when Ken Livingstone was Mayor of London just before one of his re-elections.

Over time many areas were driven over and damaged. I have been calling for proper repairs for some time. Instead of timely and effective repairs the Council patched up the slabs with ineffective shovels of asphalt.

During some developments the section of pavement between the square and Ealing Road was relayed with asphalt. This is in perfectly good and safe condition. More recently the developer of the Uncle building on corner with Park Lane provided new slab pavements outside their building. Many of the pavements behind railings in the High Road are also perfectly good condition requiring just minor repairs.

When money is short and pavements in residential roads requiring improvements are ignored is not the time for the Labour run Brent Council to waste money. Sadly this is exactly what Labour Councillors have decided to do - just 6 months before the local elections.

Magically (actually taxpayers money provided by the Government) Brent Council stashed away £17 million from Covid Grants and a staggering £3.5 million has been allocated to Wembley High Road.

Instead of cost effective repairs Labour Councillors decided that all the existing paving (including the completely new pavements next to Park Lane, the asphalt paving and good slabs) replaced with extremely expensive small paving stones.

All this is happening in the run up to Christmas when the High Road is busy with people trying to access the shops. Very disruptive for shoppers and local businesses. 

I estimate that the pavement repairs and the other improvements (new seating etc) should have cost around £1million - which means that at least £2 million is being wasted  - could have been used to upgrade and make safe pavements in many dangerous streets across Brent which actually need it.

The same Labour Councillors who decided to waste this money have also just announced their proposals for another 3% Council Tax Rise on top of all the rises in previous years.

The tragedy for local democracy is that these kind of bad decisions in Brent are made by a handful of people without any effective scrutiny. The Cabinet is made up of Labour Councillors only and there is no effective or independent scrutiny as these Committees are also chaired by Labour Councillors.

A change in the way Brent Council is run is desperately needed. We need both a Fair Voting System (and return to Committees) to end the scandal of one party getting almost all the Councillors on just half the votes.

All the best
Paul Lorber