Brent Cross Gets Go Ahead

Plan to regenerate the north-west London shopping centre area will provide 27,000 new jobs and 7,000 homes.

The news comes after the developers behind the planned £4.5bn scheme to regenerate Brent Cross and Cricklewood were forced to deny they only planned to build a tenth of the homes originally promised.

Earlier this month, a coalition of groups objecting to the scheme accused the Brent Cross Cricklewood Partners, a consortium of developers, of only committing to build 795 homes instead of 7,500.

They said that documents shown to Barnet Council's Cabinet last month showed the developers to be building just 795 homes.

However, speaking to the London Times, Jonathan Joseph, a representative of the partners, said they were not scaling down their commitment to the project, but finalising details of the first of several stages.

"This application deals with the first phase, which is about a third of the retail.

"It will include redeveloping housing on the Whitefield Estate and improvements to the A406, which will all cost around £1bn.

"It's done with a note of realism as no developer can commit to more than this. It has always been the case that this scheme was going to happen in phases," he said.

In the event, Barnet Council has since approved the 'masterplan' and members on the Council's Planning Committee resolved to grant permission to the controversial 250-acre scheme, voting in favour by a majority of eight to one.

The project is being promoted by a consortium of Brookfield Europe, Hammerson and Standard Life Investments, who intend to develop it over the next 20 years.

The decision follows campaigning by a number of local groups opposed to the scheme, with the decision coming after two evenings of debate at a special Planning and Environment Committee.

Now approved, this means the developers will pay for £964m in local infrastructure improvements, including £500m of investment in transport, involving £189m on environmental measures.

They will also pay for £200m for road improvements as well as £109m on community infrastructure including new health facilities and state-of-the-art new premises for three local schools.

Some £112m will be spent on cleaning up the land and disposing of waste and a new train station on the Midland Mainline, a new bus station, new bridges and cycling routes, new facilities for Clitterhouse Playing Fields and new open space will be constructed.

(BMcC/KMcA)