Plans to demolish a hospital building and former ambulance station in Wembley to make way for over 100 homes has left residents and politicians “deeply concerned” about the impact on the area.
Developer Fairview Estates Limited has submitted plans to redevelop the Wembley site, with the project set to deliver 108 homes in residential buildings ranging from three to six storeys tall. The developer claims the scheme will make use of a currently “underutilised and an oppressive” plot.
However, the plans, which would see the demolition of the existing Old Wembley Hospital buildings and former ambulance station, have been met with a number of objections – including a petition signed by around 60 residents.
Among the objections are concerns about the “very limited parking” proposed, which many fear will push traffic onto surrounding residential streets. A lack of affordable housing numbers and investment in local infrastructure were also cited as concerns.
History of the former Wembley Hospital site
The Old Wembley Hospital operated within the existing buildings from 1928 until 2000 when all frontline medical clinical or healthcare treatment ceased following the opening of the new Wembley Centre for Health and Care.
The site then provided a “back of house function” until it was deemed “redundant and surplus to needs” in 2019, according to the developer. It was temporarily used to store personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid-19 pandemic but has been identified by the developer as an “inactive and underutilised” urban brownfield site that is ripe for development.
Smoke seen for miles after major house fire breaks out in Wembley
What the redevelopment plans include
The redevelopment plans include 28 one-bedroom, 54 two-bedroom and 26 three-bedroom properties. Of the new homes, 99 would be flats and nine would be houses but just 11 are set to be ‘affordable’ – just over 10 per cent of the total.
The developer states: “The proposed development makes use of an allocated, underutilised high sustainable brownfield site which could provide much needed residential development that positively contributes to the local built environment.
“Surrounded by hoarding ever since [it closed], the site offers a very bleak and inactive frontage onto Chaplin Road, resulting in a negative effect on the existing townscape. Consequently, the site at present makes an extremely limited contribution in economic, social and land use terms.”
Residents raise concerns over parking and pressure on services
One objector said the proposed buildings “will dwarf my home” and risks impacting on their privacy. Another says the neighbourhood “is already busy” and it “cannot absorb any more residents”.
They added: “Further, the schools in the area are already strained with the number of applicants and this will further cause issues for existing residents who wish to have their children attend schools because of the influx of further residents thus not giving opportunity to existing residents’ families to make benefit of the schools in the vicinity.”
Liberal Democrats oppose the proposals
The Liberal Democrats have started a petition opposing the scheme, raising concerns about parking, affordable housing numbers, and public infrastructure, and are urging Brent Council’s Planning Committee to refuse the plans.
Liberal Democrat Wembley Central representative, Cllr Daniel Brown, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The plans for the former Wembley Hospital site include more than 100 homes, but with very limited parking. That is likely to push more cars onto surrounding residential streets, adding to congestion and creating real traffic problems for existing residents as well as those moving into the development.
“Just over 10 per cent of the homes proposed are affordable, which is well below the targets set out in Brent’s Local Plan (which sits at 50 per cent) and simply isn’t good enough for a development of this size.
“Local people deserve better than this. A development of this scale should provide a meaningful level of affordable housing and the infrastructure needed to support it, not create more congestion and put even greater pressure on local roads and services.”
NOW READ:
Wembley community centre saved from demolition after years sitting empty
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
