Brent Cross Cricklewood is a new town centre development under construction in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

and

Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...

, London, United Kingdom. The development is planned to cost around £4.5 billion to construct and will include 6,700 homes, workspace for 25,000 people, four parks, transport improvements and a extension of

Brent Cross Shopping Centre Brent Cross Shopping Centre is a large shopping centre in Hendon, North London, owned by Hammerson and Abrdn. Located by the Brent Cross interchange, it opened in 1976 as the UK's first Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-t ...

. The developers of the scheme are

Hammerson Hammerson PLC is a major British property development and investment company. The firm switched to real estate investment trust (REIT) status when they were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is listed on the London Stock Excha ...

and

Standard Life Standard Life is a life assurance, pensions and long-terms savings company in the UK which is owned by Phoenix Group. History 1825–2010 The Standard Life Assurance Company was established in 1825 and reincorporated as a mutual assurance com ...

. Construction was started in 2020 and the first residents will arrive in 2025. In July 2018 it was reported that the shopping centre would be delayed indefinitely. In March 2019, the government granted over £300 million to Barnet Council to deliver the new station and other infrastructure necessary for the development. In November 2019, the developers and the council agreed a new timetable in which the shopping centre expansion would come later in the development.

History

In 2003, planning permission for a 27,000 sq m extension to the shopping centre alone was rejected by the

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister An office is a space where the employees of an organization perform administrative work in order to support and realize the various goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

, because of its over reliance on car transport, and because sentiment had moved away from "out-of-town" shopping centres – which Brent Cross was considered to be. Brent Cross has been designated by the

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

in his

London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Greater London area in the United Kingdom that is written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority. It is updated from time to time. The regio ...

as a 'proposed opportunity area'. In a renewed effort to improve the area, the

London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...

approved a "Brent Cross, Cricklewood and West Hendon Development Framework" plan in 2004. This was to redevelop the whole Brent Cross district on both sides of the North Circular Road, not just the shopping centre. There would be more shops (retaining the old shopping centre), but also extensive new housing and offices, and attempts would also be made to regenerate

West Hendon West Hendon is a district of Hendon in North London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is the NW postcode area, NW9 part of Hendon, located around the A5 Edgware Road and the Welsh Harp (Brent Reservoir). The area is known for the West Hendon E ...

and

. The document stated that, The local planning authority's estimate of "29,100 additional vehicles" (for a 12-hour weekday period) has been a mobilising issue for local environmental, transport and residential groups, in their opposition to the planned redevelopment. The plans were jointly promoted by the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

, the major land owners, developers and the local authority, and became Supplementary Planning Guidance, and incorporated into Barnet's

Unitary Development Plan In United Kingdom planning law, a unitary development plan (UDP) is a development plan prepared by a metropolitan district, London Borough or some unitary local authorities. Background UDPs contains policies equivalent to those in both a struc ...

. Since then, redevelopment of the West Hendon housing area, further north on the

A5 road A5 Road may refer to: ;Africa * A5 highway (Nigeria), a road connecting Lagos and Ibadan * A5 road (Zimbabwe), a road connecting Harare and Bulawayo ;Americas * Quebec Autoroute 5, a road in Quebec, Canada * County Route A5 (California) or Bowm ...

, has been dealt with separately. The Brent Cross developers are the owners of Brent Cross shopping centre (

and Standard Life Investments. Barnet Council owns the freehold of the shopping centre, and much of the land to the south of the North Circular Road.

Planning application 2008–2009

In March 2008 the developers presented and published a new planning application, partly in outline and without the required transport assessment which was to follow shortly. When that appeared in November 2008 Barnet Council extended the deadline for comments and objections. (A planning application of this size requires the approval of the local borough and the Mayor of London, and can also be reviewed by the Secretary of State for the Environment). The

's report included criticisms and challenges from

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

. The London boroughs of Brent and Camden, whose roads border the development area, formally objected. Although the planning application stresses the importance of walking, cycling and public transport, specialist organisations such as the

London Cycling Campaign The London Cycling Campaign (LCC) is an independent membership charity lobbying for better conditions for cycling in London. Its vision is to make London "a world-class cycling city". It is one of the largest urban cycling organisations in th ...

and the Campaign for Better Transport also objected. Local residents and

Friends of the Earth Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) is an international network of grassroots environmental organizations in 73 countries. About half of the member groups call themselves "Friends of the Earth" in their own languages; the others use other ...

objected to the proposals for a new waste facility on the edge of the development and a coalition of objectors Coalition for a Sustainable Brent Cross Cricklewood was formed. Consequently, the developers added supplementary documents to the application; Barnet Council again extended the deadline for objections and twice postponed the committee meeting to consider the application. The council officers formally recommended approval of the applicationBarnet Local Planning Authority: recommendation regarding planning application
and the planning committee approved it on 19 November 2009. The Council issued planning consent on 26 October 2010. The developers first made their plans for the development public in October 2006. Planning proposals for the development were submitted to

Barnet London Borough Council Barnet London Borough Council, also known as Barnet Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Barnet in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority cont ...

on 25 March 2008. In March 2009

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...

signalled his support in principle to the development, subject to certain concerns regarding the design, social housing and transport links being addressed. The scheme received outline planning permission from Barnet London Borough Council on 20 November 2009. On 16 March 2010 the then

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom and is the Cabinet minister responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Ministry of Ho ...

John Denham John Denham may refer to: * John Denham (died 1556 or later), English MP for Shaftesbury * John Denham (judge), (1559–1639), father of the poet below, and one of the Ship Money judges * John Denham (poet) (1615–1669), English poet * John Denh ...

issued a 'stop notice' directing Barnet London Borough Council not to grant planning permission to Brent Cross Cricklewood without specific authorisation. In June 2010 it was announced that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

Eric Pickles Eric Jack Pickles, Baron Pickles, (born 20 April 1952) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Brentwood and Ongar from 1992 United ...

would not be recommending the holding of a public inquiry for the development.

Construction

Preparatory works, such as demolition of the old industrial estate, water supply and drainage, began in 2020. The Exploratory Park, a new public park, opened in August 2020. In October 2020, the developers Argent Related released their plans for the new town, including facilities for sport and play, pedestrian-friendly routes and being a net zero carbon town by 2030. The first residential buildings are planning to finish construction in 2024.

Transport

An investment of around £500 million in transport infrastructure is planned as part of the development, including: *A new bridge over the A406 *The redevelopment of Brent Cross bus station *The redevelopment of Brent Cross Underground Station *The redevelopment of

Cricklewood railway station Cricklewood railway station is on the Midland Main Line in England, serving the town of Cricklewood in the London Borough of Barnet, north London. It is down the line from and is situated between to the south and to the north. Its three-lette ...

*A new Brent Cross West railway station *Redevelopment of the

Staples Corner Staples Corner is a major road junction in London, United Kingdom. It is about north-west from Charing Cross and directly to the west of the Brent Cross crossover. It is within the Brent Cross Cricklewood new town. It has two linked roundab ...

junction *A new junction with the A5 and a new link bridge over the road *A new junction with the A41 *The construction of five new pedestrian bridges

References

External links