On Thursday (18 May) Wembley Park Gardens marked the start of construction with a symbolic groundbreaking event. The landmark development of new homes will help make Wembley Park a cleaner and greener place to live. Wembley Park Gardens, which launched in April, is a joint venture between Barratt London and Transport for London’s (TfL) wholly owned commercial property company, TTL Properties Ltd (TTLP). The development is being built on the site of a former TfL car park and is situated next door to Wembley Park Tube station, bringing central London within quick and easy reach for residents via the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines. The scheme is also designed with sustainability in mind and will bring forward wider improvements for the local community.
Highlighting the strength of Barratt London and TTLP’s partnership, the event was attended by Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor of London for Residential Housing and Development, senior representatives from Barratt London, TfL and TTLP, as well as Councillor Shama Tatler and Councillor Daniel Kennelly.
The 1.6 acre development will create 302 new one- and two-bedroom apartments for private sale, along with a further 152 affordable homes, ranging from studios to much-needed two- and three-bedroom family apartments as a combination of intermediate housing, such as shared ownership (available with SO Resi) and London Affordable Rent.
47% of homes in the area are privately rented[1], so Wembley Park Gardens will provide a welcome alternative option for local people who want to get a foot on the housing ladder. Research by JLL shows that 73 per cent of tenants in Wembley are under 34 years old and that 31 per cent of residents in the borough of Brent are in professional occupations, so the opportunity to buy in the area will be welcomed by many. In addition, the option for larger affordable accommodation will be good news for those on Brent Council’s housing waiting list who are looking for family-sized affordable homes.
The development, designed by architect TateHindle, was praised by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for meeting his new Air Quality Neutrality benchmarks – even before they became official policy. AQN aims to prevent the worsening of air quality from new development. In addition to being Air Quality Neutral, Barratt and TTLP have gone a step further with plans to green the area, which could improve the local air quality as well as increase biodiversity.
The homes are set in a family of five buildings on a single-storey podium. There are spacious gaps between the blocks, not only to make room for extensive podium gardens, but also allowing all homes to have private outdoor space and enabling the majority of the apartments to enjoy dual-aspect views.
The greenery of the podium gardens is complemented with mini parklets at the entrance to each building and substantial landscaping around the whole area, with trees and plants acting as an environmental filter that will purify the air for Wembley residents. The new homes will have an electric air source heat pump system and solar panels to minimise the development’s environmental impact and the addition of biodiverse roofs, bee bricks and bird boxes will make the site more welcoming to wildlife.
Wembley Park Gardens will be car-free for residents, other than Blue Badge parking, with dedicated cycle storage provide within each of the blocks, visible at ground level behind attractive fretwork screens. With wide footpaths, seating and play areas, the environment will encourage travel on foot or bike, while the proximity to Wembley Park Tube station, with Jubilee line and Metropolitan line services and bus connections, will enable residents to travel sustainably using public transport. The plans also include a new retail outlet next to the station that will benefit the whole community.
This joint venture between Barratt London and TTLP follows the success of their recent project at Blackhorse View in Walthamstow, which proved very popular with first time buyers, and has supported the area’s wider regeneration. Wembley Park Gardens aims to have a similar positive effect on the local area and community, with the joint venture already working with local schoolchildren. A workshop was run with students from Ark Academy, so that they could help shape the design of the public and private playspace, taking on board research that shows teenage boys are much more likely to make use of outdoor playspace than teenage girls.
Stephen Thompson, Managing Director for Barratt East London said: “While Wembley might still be best known for its stadium – both the original 1923 building where England won its only World Cup victory in 1966, and today’s incredible 90,000-seat Foster+Partners’ masterpiece – the fact was that until the area was redeveloped, it was almost a wasteland except on event days. Thanks to the ongoing regeneration of the area – of which Wembley Park Gardens will be a proud part – today’s Wembley is not just a destination, but a great place to live and work.”
Local attractions include the bustling street food centre of BOXPARK, the OVO Arena Wembley, London’s second biggest indoors arena, and the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. Locals now have picturesque green spaces to relax in, including Union Park, the first new park in Brent for more than 150 years and the popular Wembley Playpark, as well as benefiting from The Yellow community and adult education centre and great local schools. The nearby London Designer Outlet brought over 70 shops, restaurants and coffee shops, plus a nine-screen cinema and around 1,000 new jobs to the area.
“Wembley Park Gardens will not only provide high quality, energy efficient new homes, but will also have a positive social impact, promote economic development and demonstrate a responsible and sustainable approach to construction that prioritises air quality and the environment,” Thompson added.
Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, said: “It was great to be back in Brent celebrating the construction of even more new homes in the borough. Wembley Park has been transformed in recent years and it’s brilliant to see these new homes being built on TfL land.
“This development will deliver a variety of much needed homes, with many at affordable rent levels, making a real difference to people wanting to live in Wembley Park.
“Thanks to new features such as solar panels, an air source heat pump system and biodiverse roofs, this development is also meeting the Mayor’s aims to improve air quality, tackle the climate emergency and bring more greening into the area – a move that will benefit not only the new residents but those who live and work in the local community. These new homes form a key part of the Mayor’s plan to build a better, greener, fairer and more prosperous London for everyone.”
