from vision to reality Introduction

Wembley is one of London’s most ambitious regeneration projects. The scale and pace of change over the last few years has been breathtaking. New Wembley Stadium is now complete and bringing world-class events back to Wembley. Wembley Arena has had a £35 million transformation, sensitively returning the building to its former glory and creating new Wembley’s first public space between the stadium and Wembley Arena with interactive fountains and light shows. This is only the beginning. Planning permission has also been granted to build 4,000 new homes, a luxury hotel, designer shops and restaurants, leisure facilities and unrivalled community space. Building work has already started on site on the land surrounding the stadium and at Central Square on Wembley High Road. The public sector has played a crucial part. Over £80 million has been invested to upgrade and improve transport and infrastructure. With the public transport upgrades complete, Wembley now has the capacity to carry 50,000 passengers an hour to and from the area easily and safely. The time has come to review and renew Brent Council’s vision for Wembley; to take stock of the Wembley journey, to celebrate the progress to date, to reflect on the relevance of the existing priorities and to refine the Wembley vision accordingly. This document sets out how Brent Council will continue to lead the regeneration agenda. It demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the project, and marks the next stage of dialogue with the people of Brent about how they can best take advantage of the many opportunities on offer. I am determined to ensure that local residents are full participants in, and beneficiaries of, the regeneration of Wembley. I look forward to working with you all to deliver a new Wembley of which we can all be proud.

Councillor Paul Lorber, Leader of Brent Council Our vision for Wembley

Brent’s vision for Wembley was launched in November 2002. It challenges our partners to deliver a new Wembley, which by 2020 will be the vibrant heart of Brent, a key contributor to the London economy, and a national and international destination.

It is an important document that sets the overall of new jobs and meet the needs of both visitors and direction for the Wembley project as a whole. It is local residents, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” the touchstone for the key portfolio of technical “Where once there was redundant and under-used documents that drive the nature of the development commercial land, there will be a thriving city quarter at Wembley, including the ‘Wembley Framework for offering a unique city experience with a range of lively and Development’, the ‘Wembley Masterplan’ and the quality and affordable homes. The new Wembley will Wembley policies in the emerging Brent Local epitomise the very best of modern urban living.” distinctive … Development Framework. In terms of land use, our vision for Wembley sets out It has sent a clear and consistent message to the the council’s expectations and ambitions for new development world about Brent’s expectations and development in Wembley. The key components include: …a modern, service ambitions for Wembley, and has shaped the # The new Wembley Stadium subsequent planning applications that have come # A community focus for Brent, including a new forward since 2002. based economy… civic centre “Imagine a new Wembley! A new place, a new home and a new destination – modern, urban and # High quality commercial and retail facilities …thousands exciting. At its core will be a comprehensive range of # A mixture of housing types and tenures leisure and commercial facilities, exploiting excellent # The London Convention Centre of new jobs … public transport connections to the rest of London # A centre for work and the United Kingdom, all in a contemporary, lively … a thriving city and distinctive setting.” # A cultural and educational centre “Wembley will have a modern, service based # An accessible development economy. Hotels, restaurants, offices, shops, leisure uses quarter… and an array of other businesses will provide thousands Core principles

Our vision for Wembley is Multicultural Wembley underpinned by eight core Wembley is home to one of the most principles. diverse communities in Europe. The new Wembley will both embrace and celebrate this diversity, which should New Wembley be reflected in the quality of the environment, the facilities on offer, We believe that the regeneration of Wembley is a the business base and the events staged spectacular opportunity to transform a fundament- in Wembley. ally drab industrial estate into an integral and exciting piece of urban London. There is also a unique and Quality Wembley timely opportunity to redefine and reconfigure the role of the existing Wembley High Road. There can be no compromise on quality. Quite simply – quality building designs, in Brent’s Wembley a quality environment, creating a quality place. The sheer buzz and vitality of the Wembley will provide a focal point for Brent’s many new Wembley will both draw visitors and communities. Local people will come here to work, tempt them to stay. shop, meet, be entertained, rest and access a whole range of public services. It will be a place where Exciting Wembley people are proud to live and eager to visit. Wembley will be a lively, exciting Destination Wembley and safe place, incorporating bold architecture that captures the We want to maximise the positive impact of the imagination. The environment will be stadium on Wembley, making use of the planned visually stimulating. Prominent and high improvements to public transport to ensure that quality public art will reflect Brent’s Wembley becomes a destination of choice through- cosmopolitan society. Major institutions out the year for entertainment, business and will want to be seen to have a presence community events. in Wembley. Business Wembley Sustainable Wembley At the heart of our proposal is the confident belief We will pursue vigorously our strategy to that the new Wembley will make an even greater provide easy access to Wembley without contribution to the economy of London. We will the need for a car. New Wembley is and work to capitalise on its powerful brand name, will remain a public transport destination. recognised the world over, to bring tangible benefits We want and expect business and to the competitiveness of the London economy. residential premises to incorporate high standards of energy efficiency and will ensure carbon emissions are minimised and effectively managed. Delivering the vision

New Wembley Stadium

There is no more an evocative name in English football than Wembley Stadium. The stadium, with its iconic arch designed by Foster and Partners architects, is undoubtedly the greatest football arena in the world. It has been designed specifically to provide an unparalleled visitor experience. Every one of its 90,000 seats has an unimpeded view of the pitch. The acoustics are planned to create an electric Over the last five years, the progress atmosphere. And, the retractable roof means that made on delivering our vision for every spectator will be sheltered from the elements. The stadium’s arch is an iconic new landmark on the Wembley has been staggering. London skyline visible from miles around. Wembley is undoubtedly one Wembley will play a role in the 2012 London Olympics, hosting the quarter, semi and final stages of London’s fastest moving of the football tournaments. It will also be the regeneration schemes. Wembley centrepiece of future UK bids to host the football World Cup and European Championships. Stadium is complete and has already The stadium will provide a major boost to the changed the local landscape. London and local economy. On event days up to 5,000 people will work directly at the stadium. Wembley Arena has been The banqueting and hospitality facilities will ensure refurbished and re-orientated and year round employment opportunities. Brent Council’s Brent in2work team have already secured full time each of Wembley’s three stations jobs for 75 local residents with the primary catering has been dramatically improved. contractor, Delaware North. The stunning new White Horse Bridge, and the magnificent Arena Square with its interactive fountains and lightshow set an impressive blueprint for the remainder of the regeneration programme – we are beginning to see the Wembley of the future. Delivering new infrastructure Wembley Central station

A key feature of Brent’s vision for Wembley is the Wembley Central has been modernised to improve desire to create a place that is accessible to all, both both capacity and safety. The ticket office has been on event days and for the remainder of the year. The improved, lifts and CCTV installed and a new last five years has seen a massive investment in both pedestrian footbridge built to improve accessibility on public transport and road improvements to the area, event days. The station is now capable of handling up designed not just to cater for visitors to Wembley, to 12,000 people an hour. The environment and but to minimise the impact of large numbers of frontage of the station will be vastly improved as St visitors on local residents and businesses. Modwen Properties’ Wembley Central Square On stadium event days visitors will be encouraged development is built over the coming years. to use public transport. Event tickets will clearly state that car parking is not available unless pre-booked Bus improvements with tickets. Brent Council has vigorously pursued a For many local people buses are an important means three station strategy to ensure visitors are able to of travelling to Wembley. As the regeneration arrive and depart from each of Wembley’s three schemes progress existing bus routes will be expanded stations quickly and comfortably. Over £80 million and enhanced. Already it has been agreed that buses has been invested in rebuilding and improving the will be re-routed through the stadium regeneration stations to the benefit of visitors, commuters and area to deliver local people into the heart of the new local residents alike. Around 100 trains per hour will shops, cafés, employment and leisure facilities. arrive and depart from Wembley on event days and all stations have improved access for disabled Roads customers. To minimise congestion on local roads, all visitors Wembley Park station driving to events will be routed via a new two-way tidal highway linking the stadium with the North A major refurbishment and extension has been Circular Road. A new road has also been completed completed increasing the station capacity to 37,000 around the Wembley industrial estate to reduce the passengers per hour. This incorporates a new conflict between event day traffic and business entrance, ticket hall, platforms, footbridge and lifts, traffic. Easier access via the North Circular Road together with improved signage and lighting and a means local businesses can remain fully functional on new taxi interchange adjacent to the station. Works event days. continue to modernise the commuter ticket hall and Although the stadium has been designed primarily external canopy. as a public transport venue, there are still over 6,000 car parking spaces available in the area. On non- Wembley Stadium station event days these spaces will provide ample car The centrepiece is the stunning new White Horse parking to service the new shops, cinemas, leisure Bridge, designed by Marks Barfield Architects, which and cafés within the regeneration area. The will link the stadium and its surrounding regeneration introduction of parking permits for event days for area with the existing town centre. Platforms have local residents and businesses is designed specifically been extended to enable one extra carriage to be to protect residents and local businesses from illegal added to Chiltern Line trains increasing the capacity by parking by visitors. an extra 1,000 passengers an hour. A new public square has been created adjacent to the station. A £35 million refurbishment of Wembley Arena is now complete, sensitively restoring this listed building to its former glory and re-orienting it to face onto the new Arena Square. With interactive fountains, sound and light shows the square is already a local landmark and a favourite place to gather. Wembley’s Square of Fame gallery further enhances the attraction. Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Sir Cliff Richard have already left an imprint of their hands on a bronze plaque around the square – more names are to follow. Work has now begun on the first new residential block immediately adjacent to the Arena. Designed by PRP architects the block consists of 286 new A new Wembley – regeneration schemes apartments surrounding an inner courtyard. This will Since the launch of our vision the regeneration of include a new nursery and an employment portal – Wembley has moved forward at a rapid pace, faster ‘Wembley Works!’ than any other scheme of this scale across London. The public sector has played its part here too. The Progress to date has been focussed in two key London Development Agency completed its first ever locations, the area immediately surrounding the Compulsory Purchase Order to deliver a proportion stadium and the area around the High Road. of the land, while Brent Council negotiated over £25 Quintain Estates and Development plc is the lead million of local benefits to be delivered through the developer for land surrounding the new stadium. scheme. These include a new healthy living centre for The company has acquired over 23 hectares (70 acres) five GPs, up to £9 million towards a new school, £2.5 of land and secured outline planning permission for a million to help train local people to secure the new large proportion of this. Masterplanned by the Richard jobs, 8,200sqm of community facilities and Rogers Partnership, the scheme is focussed on three contributions towards improvements to stations, substantial new public spaces for London, linked by a buses, road junctions and public art. stunning new boulevard the length and width of Regent Street. Wembley High Road

Good progress has been made on a number of High The £3.5 billion development will feature: Road sites over the last five years. Perhaps most significantly work has now begun on Rotch and St # 4,200 new homes, of which 38 per cent Modwen Properties’ £50 million redevelopment of will be affordable Wembley Central Square. The scheme will deliver 235 # 45,000 sqm (487,000 sqft) of leisure and residential units, 12,800sqm (138,000 sqft) of new entertainment facilities, including a multi- retail and leisure floorspace on the lower floors. screen cinema Critically the scheme will also create a new town # 54,000 sqm (587,000 sqft) of new retail, square and vastly improved access to Wembley incorporating London’s first designer Central station. outlet centre, a specialist sports retail cluster, Work is also underway on a new residential and high street retail, restaurants and bars town centre car park scheme on the site of the # 84,000 sqm (910,000 sqft) of office and former Elm Road car park in Wembley Town Centre commercial uses for 64 affordable and 57 private apartments, and 249 # a new luxury Hilton hotel, together with car parking spaces. a new apart-hotel # 7,000 new jobs accessible to local people. From vision to reality

Quality Destination

Wembley will continue to capitalise on the international fame associated with the national stadium. Wembley will be home to an increasingly diverse range of leisure and cultural facilities, designed to draw in visitors and tourists and meet the needs of local people. In a few years, the new stadium will be complemented by cinemas, gyms, restaurants, cafés, museums, galleries, clubs, bars, public art, outdoor performances and street theatre. We will actively pursue opportunities to deliver other major visitor attractions to complement the stadium and the Arena. Wembley will also deliver international style conferencing and convention facilities to broaden the Wembley will be an Together with our partners, Brent appeal of Wembley to business tourists. Wembley will be a key venue for the 2012 London international destination of Council has made huge strides Olympics, providing a once in a lifetime opportunity to towards delivering our vision for a capture the inspiration and aspirations associated with which the people of Brent, the greatest show on earth. We will ensure that new Wembley in a very short space Wembley maximises this opportunity by playing a full London and the UK can of time. The time is now right to role in the 2008 handover ceremony from the Beijing Olympics and subsequently by developing a be duly proud. take stock of the Wembley journey, programme of events leading up to 2012. to celebrate progress to date, reflect Our aim is for Wembley to become one of London’s ‘must visit’ tourist destinations. on the relevance of the existing priorities and subsequently to Quality Retail review, renew and refine the For far too long the residents of north west London have had a poor retail offer. Wembley will help to Wembley vision accordingly. transform this, in conjunction with the major proposals at White City and Brent Cross, by providing high quality and diverse shopping facilities within an A key feature of Wembley’s regeneration has been exceptional public realm. Brent Council’s insistence on the highest possible Alongside London’s first designer outlet centre and quality in all that is proposed and delivered. In specialist sports retail, we want to bring high street refining our vision and moving forward we want to brands to Wembley, creating a new concentration of ensure that this remains the case. We are determined retail uses and reinventing the town centre. And, we that Wembley will be an international destination want to continue to explore the potential for more which the people of Brent, London and the UK are as ethnic retail centres and markets, capitalising on the proud of in the future as they have been in the past. strength of areas like the Ealing Road. Quality jobs Quality homes

Central to our ambitions is that Wembley, together Throughout the regeneration process we must never with its near neighbour Park Royal, becomes a key forget that Wembley has been, is, and will continue driver in the west London economy, providing a to be home to many people. Already 6,000 new sustainable source of jobs for local people. There will homes are proposed and underway as part of the be new job opportunities for local people in hotels, new Wembley regeneration project. catering, hospitality, entertainment, cultural industries, Our aim is to ensure that Wembley remains a home retail and commercial services to name but a few. of choice. There will be a range of quality new We will transform the Wembley Industrial Estate, housing – private, shared ownership, social rented working with the private sector to develop this area and key worker. We will insist on mixed tenure blocks into a modern employment area, providing a rich wherever this is appropriate. variety of sustainable jobs for local people. For Wembley to be a home of choice the There will be a strong focus through Brent in2work surrounding facilities will also need to be excellent. on ensuring that local people are best placed to There will be new schools, colleges and health secure the new jobs on offer, both during facilities, easily accessible for new and existing construction and more importantly within the residents alike. Transport facilities will be improved completed developments. We will continue to work and enhanced further, with improved tube rail, road with employers to provide bespoke training, and bus links. recruitment services and interview guarantee schemes for local people. And we will provide a new fast bus service between Wembley and Park Royal, linking local people to the new jobs and facilities.

Quality community facilities

Brent is the most diverse borough in the United Kingdom. Critical to our vision for a new Wembley is that this diversity is respected and reflected throughout the regeneration proposals that come forward. The new Wembley will provide a range of community and cultural facilities designed specifically to attract all of our communities into the area. There Quality design will be a new civic centre and a flagship library, for the first time providing a single public service facility Quite simply, if we are to deliver our vision for a new under one roof. Wembley will be a venue for festivals Wembley we must deliver the highest quality designs and celebrations reflecting all faiths. The in the highest quality environment. The new Wembley performance venues and cinemas will provide Stadium, the refurbished Wembley Arena, the White entertainment for all. And the public arts programme Horse Bridge and the new Arena Square have will reflect Brent’s diversity. established an impressive precedent which future We believe that Wembley’s diversity is a real regeneration proposals will need to match. strength and our aim is for Wembley to be London’s To achieve this we will continue to work with high most cosmopolitan destination. quality designers and architects and we will insist upon incorporating high quality and sustainable environmental features into the design of both new buildings and the environment as a whole. Our commitments

Successfully delivering this Investing council and other resources into a Thinking flexibly and imaginatively about Delivering the existing regeneration ambitious vision will continue to multi-disciplinary project team able to drive the boundaries of the regeneration area, programmes in a way that maximises their forward regeneration in line with the ambitions to ensure the best possible solutions for impact on the delivery of this vision. We will be a challenge. Brent Council is set out in this document. Encompassing regen- the people of London and Brent. We will work creatively with funding bodies and fully committed to delivering a eration, planning, housing, communication, be pragmatic and open-minded in our partner agencies to ensure a genuinely consultation and property specialists, the team approach to new proposals. comprehensive development. new Wembley. Specifically we will provide an effective and efficient ‘one stop’ commit to: service to all development partners. Continuing to promote enhancements to Providing civic leadership by ensuring forums public transport and infrastructure and ease for debate and consultation with local residents Taking a direct stake in the area by developing of access to the area for all people, groups and and businesses. We will build on our existing Working in partnership with developers, a major civic and community facility as part of communities. The new Wembley will be one of consultation and will maintain an open the Government, the Mayor of London, the regeneration. This will give Brent Council a the most accessible destinations in the country. dialogue with local residents at every stage. the Greater London Authority, the London physical presence in the Wembley regeneration Development Agency, Transport for London, area and affords an exciting opportunity to Ensuring that residents of West London’s West London and neighbouring boroughs and work closely with other public sector providers. deprived communities are better placed to take other strategic partners (including the private, advantage of the employment opportunities not-for-profit and voluntary/community associated with the regeneration of Wembley, sectors) to help delivery of our vision. both during the construction phases and beyond. Local residents will be full participants Securing the best possible funding in – and beneficiaries of the regeneration of packages to assist in the regeneration Wembley. in line with this vision. Brent already has an impressive track record of Identifying appropriate partners to provide attracting funding and we will use this strategic and quality housing opportunities. expertise to further boost the area. The development of high quality housing for all social groups is a major objective for the council and the regeneration of Wembley will play its part in achieving it. www.brent.gov.uk

Produced by Brent Council June 2007 BDU 5471