Controversial Bridge Park regeneration consultation - November sessions

Readers will remember the controversy over the Bridge Park (Stonebridge) development when Brent Council entered agreements with what some felt were rather dodgy overseas registered property companies. LINK

In particular concern centred around General Mediterranean Holdings (GMH)  and its Chairman Sir Nadhmi Avichi who had faced fraud allegations in 2003. Cllr John Warren in January tried to get a debate on the issue, and in particular Avichi's links with the Labour Party LINK but his motion was defeated by the overwhelming majority of the Labour Group.

The proposals include a new hotel and housing that  is unlikely to be truly affordable for local people.  There will be no space for the small businesses that are currently housed on site and apart from the added swimming pool at the Leisure Centre  I understand overall space is smaller as function rooms will not be provided.  The question arises about whether the replacement will be a public facility or run by a private company.

Now the proposals are coming up for public consultation  (two for Lead Members, ward councillors and local residents took place earlier this week)  This is the consultation notice as it appears on Brent Council's website:

2 November 2017, 6.30pm to 9pm, Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre

See events in: Public consultations

Top of Form

Public Consultation on the redevelopment of Bridge Park

• Update residents on progress with the sale of the land
• Share information on the wider Bridge Park redevelopment proposals
• Seek input on the emerging design for the new leisure centre

Date: Thursday 2 November

Location: Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre

Time: 6.30pm -7pm (Presentation) 7pm - 9pm (Drop-in session)

Have your say on the Bridge Park redevelopment, complete our online consultation survey before 3 December 2017.

Bridge Park redevelopment

Brent Council is working with the owners of the Unisys site situated adjacent to the Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre in Stonebridge on exciting proposals to regenerate the site for new homes, businesses and a brand new leisure centre with improved facilities.

Background

In June 2013, Brent Council looked at options for developing the Unisys and Bridge Park sites for residential and commercial development to fund a new sports centre. In February 2014, council consulted with the public on four options for the layout of the new facility. Option three was chosen and includes:

• four court sports hall     
• 65 station gym
• Smaller separate gym
• Children’s soft play area and party room      
• Sauna and steam rooms
• Studios
• Spin studio
• Small meeting room
• 50 car parking spaces      
• Four lane swimming pool with moveable floor

In June 2017, the Council entered into a Conditional Land Sale Agreement (CLSA) with the purchaser.

What’s next?

• Progress plans for the new leisure centre and re-development proposals
• Further consultation events with the public 
• Purchase additional land

Information about public consultation dates will be publicised widely.

Contact

For further information about the project contact

• Project Manager- Tanveer Ghani 
• Email- Tanveer.ghani@brent.gov.uk

FAQs

What is the Conditional Land Sale Agreement (CLSA)?    

The CLSA is a time-limited contract between the Council and the developer. The CLSA includes a range of terms and conditions that need to be met in order to complete the sale of Council land to the developer. Please refer to the reports highlighted in the ‘Things to Read’ section for further information about the CLSA.

When will the current Bridge Park Community Leisure Centre (BPCLC) close?  

The Council’s plan is to keep the current Bridge Park Leisure Centre open until the CLSA is completed. We expect BPCLC to be kept open until the Summer of 2019 and further communications will be provided in due course.

Will BPCLC close once the CLSA is completed? 

Yes, the current facility will have to close for redevelopment to start.

When is the redevelopment expected to begin and how long will it last?  

 It is too early to say at this stage although we don’t expect anything to happen on the site until 2019 at the earliest. The immediate target is satisfy the terms and conditions for completing the CLSA. At key milestones of the project, the Council will continue to publish updates online and through local press.

What will the new leisure centre, hotel and housing look like?

Architects Roberts Limbrick will consult with members of the public on design proposals for the new leisure centre.

Detailed consultation plans are below (Click bottom right to enlarge):

Yes, yet another Wembley hotel this time with industrial site neighbours

Let's face it, First Way, Wembley is not the most prepossessing place for yet another hotel. Flanked by an industrial estate with waste lorries and construction trucks rumbling by and this (below) just down the road, guests would not exactly be in a healthy environment.

However the site of rug outlet Latif House  (below) may eventually become a hotel and 'apart-hotel' according to a pre-application presentation at last week's Brent Planning Committee. A hotel of approximately 16 storeys containing 274 hotel hotel rooms and an 11 storey 'apart hotel' containing 186 apart-hotel rooms is planned.

Planning Officers have a number of reservations about the proposal including the fact that it will reduce the number of residential units scheduled for the area. They are also concerned about the height. This is clearly important as it will set a precedent for an as yet undeveloped part of the Quintain empire on the eastern side of the stadium. The planners point out that the planned height would 'appear incongruous with the wider street scene' and would not (planners speak) 'respectfully appear subservient to the building occupying the visually prominent site at Ketaly House.' They add that the building would need to respect the transition between high density residential development to the west and established low rise industrial development to the east.

Planning officers are clear that there are vital environmental issues to be taken into account including noise insulation due to the  proximity of commercial premises, air quality, construction noise and dust, asbestos, kitchen odour, light pollution and potential for land to be contaminated.

It is interesting to note that the annexe of Latif House was withdrawn from sale at a price of just £30,000 LINK . Given the above I wonder what the value of the site is now?

A new hotel for Wembley Central to replace tax office

Valiant House

Brent Planning Committee will be recommended to approve another Wembley hotel at their meeting on January 14th.

This hotel will replace Valiant House which is on the corner of the High Road and Cecil Avenue and currently occupied by HMRC, which is closing its offices. Copland Community High School is on the other side of Cecil Avenue.

This, the latest of several such applications, proposes a 116 bedroom hotel with an additional three storeys above the present building. The small car park in Cecil Avenue would be closed if the scheme goes ahe

Euro Hotel Elm Road

The hotel would be run by the Euro Hotel Group which already owns the Euro Hotel in Elm Road Wembley. They have other hotels in Clapham, Peckham, Leyton and Croydon.

Their hotels are at the budget end of the market. Elm Road has just one star. A room there is currently quoted as low as £15 on the internet.


According to the documentation only one objection LINK has been received. The objection was based on insufficient parking, adding to traffic congestion and disturbance caused by 'revellers' at the hotel's bar and restaurant.

The architects, Dexter Moren Associates describe the project thus:

Illustration on Dexter Moren website

Looking at ways to add value to our clients’ developments by efficient spatial planning and maximising the number of rooms is one of our core skills as specialist hotel architects. Working with Euro Hotel Group, DMA have submitted plans to Brent Council for the development of a hotel on the High Road Wembley. Our proposal looks to extend and reconfigure the existing “Valiant House” to create a hotel with 116 bedrooms with basement and ground floor public areas. A three storey contemporary box has been introduced to sit above the existing red brick building which steps down to the rear of the site where a lower extension adheres to the more domestic street scene.  The whole is clad in high pressure laminate coloured to enhance the red brick of the existing structure while large windows and brightly coloured deep reveals add a sense of play. Internally the layouts have been carefully considered to best utilise the existing plan and extend in a sensitive and informed manner creating a flow of space that offers a practical solution that both maximises accommodation on the site and adheres to planning constraints.

Another hotel is planned south of this down the Harrow Road on the site of the Bridge Park Sports Centre and more hotels are due to be opened in the Quintain development in Wembley Park.

At the same meeting the Committee will decide whether an expansion of Preston Park Primary School to accommodate 840 pupils should go ahead. Details HERE

How much has Brent House lost council taxpayers?

Brent Council purchased the leasehold of Brent House in Wembley in 2008 for £17.1m. Shortly after due to the financial collapse and the resulting property crash it was revalued in 2010 on an 'owner occupier use value' at £8.375m. The current depreciated  Net Book Value on the Council's Asset Register is £4.519m.

Brent House is now surplus to requirements following the move of council staff to the Civic Centre but Air France still occupies part of the building and it has Vodafone and Airwaves masts on the roof. The combined income stream for the council ois£363k. This is likely to be lost on sale of the leasehold as Air France will have to vacate the building.

Brent Council borrowed £17.695m for the leasehold purchase with an annual debt charge of £1.031m. This combines principal and interest and was forecast for repayment over 40 years. (I'll leave you to work out the total cost!) The outstanding principal of the original borrowing  is £16.886m - more than 3 times the Net Book Value.

The council now proposes to dispose of the leasehold but has not released the purchase figure. They do state however that the capital receipt offer is in excess of the 'property's Net Book Value on the Council's Asset Register but lower that the outstanding principal on the unsupported borrowing'.

We are left to work out that the bidder's unrevealed purchase  figure is between £4.519m and £16.886m. A wide range by any stretch of the imagination and surely residents ought to be told the extent of any loss on the sale? Details are restricted and the relevant Appendix to the report no published.

The Brent Executive will decide on Monday their preferred bidder  for the leasehold sale. Officers are recommending one from Stoford Ltd.

Stoford intend to convert and extend the premises to provide a 158 bed hotel, (Premier Inn) 66 homes of which 'around 22' would be affordable and 465m2 of retail with 165 parking spaces.

If that does not progress the reserve bidder recommended is Henley Homes which officers, whilst impressed by Henley's track record,  questioned deliverability'.

This is a new build bid with 269 homes of which 80 would be affordable and with a bigger retail space of 1,580m2 but no hotel.

Anong the rejected bids were:

• One Housing Group, rejected as too low financially.
• Bellway Homes - scheme for 327-346 homesm rejected as over-development
• Criterion Capital - unconditional bid for conversion of exisiting building to 135-140 homes, Theye did not submit a second bid.
• Quatar Property Group - conversion of existing building to an unspecified number of homes, rejected due to relatively low value.

Although the Council claim that a hotel meets with the Wembley Plan I would question whether the borough needs yet another hotel and most of the new Wembley hotels are closer to the Stadium, Arena and Wembley Park station.

It does seem to me that the Council has missed yet another opportunity to build affordable homes. A hotel is also planned at Bridge Park on the other side of the North Circular with a minimum affordable home quota of only 5%.

The retail fits in with the Council's plan to have a retail corridor all the way from Wembley Central station down to the Stadium, incorporatng the London Designer Outlet.  The redeveloped Elizabeth House, next to Brent House, already includes retail space which as far as I know has not yet been let. The jury is still out on the viability of the LDO.