Barnet Council expects to name the shortlist for a developer partner for Brent Cross South – the land south of the North Circular – in September.
The council has agreed a commercial deal that will see Hammerson and Standard Life redevelop Brent Cross Shopping Centre with new shops, restaurants and leisure, deliver infrastructure and transport improvements, as well as new parks and green spaces, while the council jointly develops land to the south of the North Circular Road (A406) with a third party.
The Council says it expects to announce its shortlist of potential developers at the end of September.
Work on the phased rebuilding of the shopping centre is set to begin in 2016. Outline planning permission for the redevelopment of the whole site was granted in 2010, and updated earlier this year.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced his support for the creation of a new mainline railway station at Cricklewood in his budget speech this year.
This will put the site within a 12 minute journey time of Kings Cross and give direct links through the City of London.
Hammerson and Standard Life are committed to a major investment into the road, public transport, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, including a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the North Circular, connecting the areas to the north and south of the road properly for the first time.
The council believe the area to the south of the North Circular has capacity for 7,500 new homes and the whole regeneration area has the potential to support up to 20,000 jobs in 450,000 sq m of commercial space.
The first stage of development is likely to see some 2,000 new homes built and 17,500 sqm of new retail space created to the south of the new pedestrian bridge, forming the heart of the new town centre.
Richard Cornelius, Leader of Barnet Council, said: “It is important to this council that we create a living, thriving neighbourhood with a real sense of place.
“We want to create a new town centre that will set the standard for developing successful new neighbourhoods in London, and we are looking for a developer with the ability to deliver that vision.”
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “I am developing a long-term plan for release later this summer that will aim to meet that challenge (delivery of housing for London’s growing population) head on. Key to the plan are schemes like the one at Brent Cross, which as one of our largest brownfield development sites, has the capacity to deliver thousands of new homes and jobs, but only with investment in a new Thameslink station at Cricklewood.
“We have been working closely with Barnet Council to achieve this and fully support their work to find a developer and get the station built.”
