Barnet Council’s flagship Brent Cross regeneration project has taken a stride forward after the Government announced extra funding for the scheme.
A £319.5 million government grant will allow key parts of the development to go ahead despite ongoing uncertainty over the expansion of the Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
It will enable the construction of the Brent Cross West station and other key infrastructure at the site, which will eventually provide 7,500 new homes.
The scheme suffered a significant setback last year when shopping centre owner Hammerson put the expansion on hold due to “turbulence in the UK retail markets”.
The original plan for the site had been for the council to use ringfenced business rate revenue from the shopping centre’s expansion to fund the new station.
While Hammerson said it remained committed to the Brent Cross project, its decision created a significant funding gap.
The extra money from the Housing Infrastructure Fund, confirmed by the Government earlier this month, means the project can go ahead despite the lack of a start date for the shopping centre expansion.
Barnet Council will repay part of the grant through ringfenced business rates, while the Government will receive half of the profits from the Brent Cross South scheme.
As well as the new homes, the £4.5 billion regeneration scheme will create three million square feet of workspace and up to 27,000 new jobs.
Council leader Cllr Richard Cornelius said: “Brent Cross Cricklewood is the council’s largest regeneration programme and will transform this area of Barnet, bringing wide-ranging benefits to the whole area.
“The people who already live in the area will be joined by new residents and businesses in what will be a fantastic place to live, work and enjoy.
“We know that housing is a very important issue for our residents and more widely in London. That is why we are tackling this problem head-on by building new houses.
“This scheme will be a great example of regeneration can improve and enhance neighbourhoods.”
Residents are being invited to two public exhibitions of the plans for the Brent Cross West station, which will be submitted for consideration in the summer.
The first of these will be held at Whitefield School on Claremont Road between 5pm and 9pm on Wednesday, April 3.
Another exhibition will be held at Clayton Crown Hotel, Cricklewood Broadway, from 10am to 4pm on Thursday, April 4.
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