Brent Cabinet to reconsider Pedway funding following proposed sale of Wembley Stadium

An urgent item has been put on the Brent Cabinet agenda on May 21st to re-examine th funding decisions for Olympic Way Improvements (including the replacement of the Pedway by steps) 'following the announcement of the possible sale of Wembley Stadium to a private individual/company.'

The £18m allocated to the scheme proved extremely controversial during the recent local election with residents suggesting that the money would be better used to tackle potholes and dangerous pavements throughout the borough. LINK

There have been persistent reports that the Football Association, currently owners of Wembley Stadium, have not been convinced that the replacement of the Pedway is desirable, while Quintain have cited aesthetic reasons for the replacement in the context of their overall Wembley scheme. Quintain would have been the recipient of the £18m.

To comply with the Council's Constitution on urgent decisions notice has been given to Matt Kelcher, Chair of Public Realm Scrutiny, that because of the urgency the usual 28 days notice cannot be given but 5 days will suffice:

Quintain need to continue with design development for Zone C works including the steps to be in a position to award a contract in September 2018 for the manufacture of the precast steps for installation in December 2019/January 2020. This being the only window available for the installation prior to Euro 2020. In light of recent news that Wembley Stadium is proposed to transfer from Football Association ownership to a private individual/company, Cabinet is being asked to re-examine the funding decision made in July 2017 to contribute funding for Olympic Way Improvements to enable the Council to advise Quintain accordingly.

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Was Brent's £17.8m decision on the Pedway steps legal?

Paul Lorber, former leader of the Lib Dem-Coalition adminstration of Brent Council has wrotten to officers asking for a legal opinion on the Council's decision to pay £17.8 of CIL money for the replacement of the Wembley Stadium Pedway by steps.

Lorber writes:

You may be aware that Mr Martin Francis uncovered a Quintain Press Release from 2007 [Ed: see below] claiming a big Private Investment in replacing the pedway to Wembley Stadium with steps.

The Council’s Local Plan Framework from 2009 refers to the Pedway as a developer works to be funded by the developer. There was no indication of any Brent responsibility for this or any indication of S106 funding or other Brent Council contribution. The estimated cost in 2009 was £10 million. 

In view of this, and other Brent Council cost pressures and priorities (including £100 million backlog of repairs to pavements and roads) it seems odd that officers could recommend and Councillors could accept handing over £17.8 million of public money to Quintain for what they claimed to be works funded by private investment.

Can you confirm if legal opinion has been obtained confirming that this proposed payment is legal and within the powers of Brent Council to make. Have the Council’s Auditors been consulted so that they can consider the issue of value for money or/and appropriate use of scarce Council resources.

If this has not been done can you consider obtaining such a Legal Opinion and advice/guidance from the Council’s Auditors.

If you do not intend to obtain the advice please provide details (including email) of the Auditors so that I can pursue this as a local taxpayer.

Butt attempts to shift blame for Pedway expenditure on to Lib Dems and Tories

Brent Council leader Muhammed Butt has been active on Next Door, the neighbourhood website, following members expressing concern about the poor condition of road surfaces and pavements in Brent and citing the £18m expenditure on the replacement of the Wembley Stadium Pedway by steps as wasteful when this work needs doing.  LINK.

In a message directed at me Butt states:

@Martin Francis Please take a look at this report from the councils website in relation to the money that you refer to LINK  The decision to allocate the funding was taken in 2009 by full council. This was a decision taken by the administration led by Paul Lorber and Bob Blackman. It's clear that the funding would be funded by the developer funds. The decision does make it clear that the pedway removal would have to be after 2013/14.

This is the relevant extract from the report (click bottom right corner to enlarge):

I responded:

@MuhammedButt I have looked at the document you cited re the Pedway. It says that the Delivery Mechanism is 'Through Developer' and the Funding source is 'By Development'. CIL was not yet implemented but other projects made it clear when Section106 (CIL's predecessor) was being used. S106 is not mentioned for the Pedway. It is unclear to say the least. Quintain's own press release  (below) boasts that this is 'private investment'. I don't think CIL money, paid by a developer to a local authority, and then given back to them is 'private investment'.

I don't think this supports Butt's claim that funding was by 'developer funds' if by that he means CIL money or its Section 106 equivalent.

 Interestingly I understand that the Football Association is not enthusiastic about the proposal to replace the Pedway with steps. They are said to be concerned about crowd safety when fans exit the Stadium and have engaged specialists to examine the issue. The Stadium's crowd management using the Pedway has been tuned to a 'fine art' and it is questionable as to whether the steps could operate as safely.

Meanwhile Quintain's main reasons for the change are 'aesthetic' with an emphasis on the Pedway spoiling the look of its development around the Stadium.  Of course it could be counter-argued that the development spoils the aesthetics of the Stadium!

How disruptive will Pedway/Steps work be at Wembley Stadium?

A reader has asked about the demolition and construction phase of the replacement of the Wembley Stadium pedway with steps. They were concerned about safety and impact on local roads. Please see an extract below from the Site Management Plan published on the Brent Council Planning Portal HERE 

The works are planned to take approximately 87 days and some phases will require work from 7am until 11pm. The work will not take place on Event Days.


EXTRACT

Upon taking possession of the site, it will be secured around the areas of immediate construction work. The initial work activity will focus on clearing the site below and around the Pedway of those utilities and other items that will obstruct the pedway demolition and subsequent staircase construction. As areas become clear works to the foundations of the steps and substructure will commence. 

The foundations to the steps will be constructed in and around the existing pedway str ucture in advance of its demolition. Therefore, there will be a need to utilise small / specialist plant, such as restricted access piling rigs that will be able to access the low headroom areas beneath the existing Pedway to construct the piles. 

In conjunction with the construction of the new staircase substructure , earthworks will be undertaken to create crane mats to the south and west of the proposed staircase. These will be required to accommodate the craneage that will service the construction of the staircase superstructure. It is anticipated that these crane s will be greater than 100T in capacity/size. 

Any superstructure elements of the new staircase that fall outside of the existing Pedway may also be built in this phase , however, this will require further consideration in due course as such elements will need to be protected during the demolition of the existing Pedway structure .

Phase 2 – Pedway Demolition and Construction of Steps

Demolition 

This phase will commence within an agreed window of time to minimise the impact to Wembley National Stadium. This will be through a window on non - events ( or , if this is not feasible, where there are minimal events ). Due to the constraints in agreeing such a suitable timeframe, extended working hours to ensure that the works are completed within the agreed timeframe will be required (as agreed with the Local Authority) . 

The Pedway will be demolished in two stages. It is anticipated that the Pedway will be demolished using traditional excavator mounted munchers and breakers. The majority of the Pedway will be removed using excavator mounted munchers will minimise the noise and dust that will be create by this operation. Water spray dust suppression will be utilised to prevent dust from the demolition operation. 

The first stage of demolition will focus on removing the Pedway structure from the area of the new staircase construction. Once this is removed , the demolition will focus on removing the remainder of the Pedway (as it runs across Engineers Way towards Olympic Way and Wembley Park station north of the Stadium). A road closure of Engineers Way will be required whilst the Pedway is removed across the carriageway area (details as to the number and timeframes required for the road closures are not yet available but will be agreed , at the appropriate time, with the Local Authority ) .

Construction of Steps

The construction of the staircase is anticipated to be a combination of pre - cast and cast in - situ concrete. It is anticipated that the podium section that will connect to the S tadium will be cast in - situ and the staircase will be formed from precast struc tural elements. The staircase is of a modular construction and will follow a step by step process that will be prescribed by the designer and supplier. Through this phase of heavy lifting it may be necessary to have lane closure on Engineers Way to facilitate easy delivery and unloading of the precast elements. Pedestrian management will be a key feature of this phase to maintain safety exclusion zones around the works. 

The podium area will be formed using a birdcage scaffold system that will be designed and installed by specialist contractors. This will be used to support the permanent formwork panels that will form the soffit of the deck. 

Temporary works will be required to support the precast elements before they are permanently stitched into the main structure. This support will be provided by either a birdcage scaffold system, steel trestles or similar . This detail will be established early in the project . 

Two cranes in excess of 100T capacity will service the construction of the staircase to allow for lifting and installation of the concrete units and temporary works systems. 

Once the structure is completed, it will be waterproofed using a proprietary waterproofing system to allow the paving to commence and the handrailing and lighting to be installed. 

The attendant craneage will be utilised to service the paving and street furniture installation. The paving will be finished in sections and will work up the staircase. The paving at the podium level will be progressed concurrently with the stair case paving. This will be essential to ensure the programme is met within the time constraints for delivery .

Quintain lodges planning application for replacement of Wembley Stadium pedway with steps

Artists' impression of the steps

The pedway in use

Quintain's planning application for the replacement of the Wembley Stadium Pedway by steps is now on Brent Council's Planning Portal  LINK. The application will be heard by Brent Council Planning Committee. Brent Council has controversially given £18,000,000 Community Infrastructure Levy monies back to Quintain for this and other claimed improvements to the public realm between Wembley Park station and the stadium.

The steps are very similar to those at the station with the addition of a broader landing at the top of the steps.

The full application contains proposals for the possible  use of the 'undercroft' beneath the steps similar to that on the South Bank which was only saved for skateboarders after a spirited campaign.

The plan involves the planting of trees along Olympic Way and the construction of two roads parallel to the steps connecting the stadium to Engineers Way.

Summary of the Planning Application:

18/0973 | Full planning permission for the demolition of the existing 'Pedway' ramp structure to the front of Wembley Stadium and the construction of a set of steps (with associated lighting) to connect ground level to Wembley Stadium Landing Level (concourse); and use of the void created beneath the proposed steps as secure storage for estate maintenance equipment; the reconfiguration of an existing unadopted estate road (Perimeter Way) to create two new roads either side of the steps connecting to Engineers Way; the use of land beneath the steps bridge as temporary event space; a revised vehicular access to Plot W03 immediately west of the application site and public realm works comprising the installation of hard landscaping, street trees, lighting columns that can incorporate advertising banners, street furniture, underground water attenuation measures, services, tree pits and other associated works. AND Advertisement consent is sought for banners to four lighting columns on Olympic Way, as proposed under this application. | Zone C, Olympic Way & Perimeter Way, Wembley, HA9

Putting aside the issue of all the alternative uses that Brent could have made of the £18 million the issue of safety arises when the stadium empties down the steps. The station steps are steep but are not used in one massive exit from the station but staggered as trains arrive at intervals. People wlll exit the stadium at the same time and descend the steps. We already know how rammed it gets on the pedway and Olympic Way at exit times - one slip and there could be a serious accident.  The illustration on the application gives a clue to how crowded it will get: