Mark Hogan's Blog

A public planning meeting to discuss the approval of the controversial Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration plan has been postponed until mid-November. One of the largest regeneration projects proposed anywhere in the UK, the developers anticipate spending £4.5 billion to create over 7,500 new homes and apartments along with new retail and office space (for comparison, the London Olympic Park is the UK's largest regeneration project and is anticipated to come in at just under £6 billion).

The area under consideration is in the Borough of Barnet, across the North Circular Road from the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Characterised as a "brownfield" in the development plan, the site is currently occupied by several tower blocks of council housing, a number of retail establishments including Bestway and a large Tesco store, a public leisure centre, and a school.

In addition to the housing, office and retail components, the development plan currently under consideration by the Barnet Council would include new roadways,  replacement facilities for those being removed during the course of the project, improved connections to public transport, and improvements to the Clitterhouse Playing Fields. One of the more controversial aspects of the plan is a gasification plant for waste, which many opponents of the project have claimed is essentially an incinerator.

Partners in the development of this scheme include Brookfield Europe, Hammerson plc and Standard Life Investments. The developers' website contains more information about the project, along with the text of the planning application documents. It can be viewed at www.brentcrosscricklewood.com.