Showing posts with label Wembley Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wembley Park. Show all posts

Wednesday 24 January 2024

Road and lane closures etc Chalkhill Road, Bridge Road, Barn Hill in Wembley Park January-February for new water main installation

Information from Brent Council

Affinity Water have to install a new water main along Chalkhill Road and Bridge Road, Wembley, to increase water supply in the area. Unfortunately, to safely undertake these works road closures, lane closures and banned left turn will be required.

 

  • 2nd January – 23rd February – Chalkhill Road will be closed to through traffic at the junction of Bridge Road, access for residents and businesses will be maintained with local agreement for the duration of the works. 

 

  • 22nd January – 28th January – Two way temporary traffic lights will be installed on Bridge Road at the junction of Chalkhill Road to enable Affinity Water to cross Bridge Road and install around thirty metres of water main in the bus lane north towards Forty Avenue. 

 

  • 29th January – 23rd February – A lane closure (Bus Lane) will be installed from outside Ark Academy to the junction of Forty Avenue, vehicles will be prohibited from turning left from Bridge Road into Forty Avenue and Barn Hill will also be closed at the junction of Forty Lane in both directions. This will enable the junction of Bridge Road, Forty Avenue and Forty Lane to be controlled with three way temporary traffic lights. Advanced warning signs will be placed at strategic locations advising motorists that there is no access to Forty Avenue and Barn Hill from Bridge Road for the duration of the works.

Monday 22 January 2024

Quintain sell off two more Wembley Park Build to Rent blocks - 490 units in all

 

Alameda

 

Beton

490 families renting in Wembley Park will find themselves with a new landlord following Quintain's sale to KKR of two Wembley Park blocks, Alameda and Beton.  However, those tenants who have been complaining about the management of the blocks LINK will be stuck with Quintain Living as KKR have appointed them to manage both the retail and resident elements of both buildings.

The sale is part of Quintain's strategy to sell off blocks to use the cash to finance further building.

Quintain's Press Release

 KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announces the acquisition of two high-quality, purpose Build-to-Rent (BtR) multi-family buildings from Quintain, the developer and asset manager behind Wembley Park, for an undisclosed sum.

Alameda and Beton, completed in 2019 and 2020 respectively, comprise 490 BtR units across two buildings and circa 40,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space. The buildings hold BREEAM “Excellent” and WiredScore “Platinum” ratings.

KKR is making the investment through its European Core+ Real Estate strategy, which invests in high-quality, substantially stabilised assets with medium-term value growth potential. Residential is a thematic priority for KKR’s overall European real estate strategy, given its strong structural growth drivers, including population growth and urbanisation to support greater demand for rental housing. The transaction builds on KKR’s strong Real Estate platform in the UK and across Europe where the team also invests across logistics, industrial and commercial real estate through KKR’s platforms.

As part of the investment, KKR has appointed Quintain to manage both the residential and retail elements of both buildings, marking Quintain’s commitment to manage properties as a third-party manager for investors in BtR through its Quintain Living management platform.

The transaction forms part of Quintain’s wider strategy to dispose of stabilised, early-generation residential assets at Wembley Park, repay debt and to invest in ongoing development, with a focus on BtR, neighbourhood retail and placemaking.

Charles Tutt, Head of UK Real Estate at KKR, commented: “We are pleased to acquire two high-quality assets in Wembley Park, one of London’s most exciting residential neighbourhoods. This investment underscores our conviction that residential real estate will continue to benefit from structural growth drivers. Located within an established submarket with excellent connectivity to Central London, the assets are well positioned to benefit from the favourable dynamics of the London residential market.”

Ian Williamson, Head of Core+ Real Estate in Europe at KKR, added: “This acquisition expands on our European real estate strategy, which includes investing in high-quality residential assets. The Core+ sector is proving to be a strong strategy given its ability to structurally grow in areas where there is an imbalance in supply and demand, particularly as investors seek attractive risk adjusted returns in a dynamic macro-environment. KKR is well positioned in a competitive market given our global track record, the strength of the KKR platform and our sophisticated investment approach.”

James Saunders, Quintain CEO, said: “This deal underlines our commitment to recycling capital from non-core and stabilised assets to re-invest in new homes at Wembley Park, where we have two new buildings underway and on track to be delivered by 2025. We are also delighted that KKR has appointed Quintain Living to continue managing Alameda and Beton. This marks the first step in the roll-out of our Quintain Living management platform to third-party operators.” 

Monday 15 January 2024

'No working fire alarms' at 21 storey Wembley Park tower block that caught fire at the weekend

 There was a fire in a 21 storey block in Wembley Park at the weekend, not far from Wembbley Stadium. It is very concerning that the block had no working fire alarms.

 

 London Fire Bridge Press Release

 Five fire engines and around 35 firefighters were called to a fire at a block of flats on Fulton Road in Wembley.

A small part of a first floor flat in a 21 storey building was destroyed by fire.

 

Fire investigators found the property didn't have working smoke alarms and the fire was most likely caused by the unsafe disposal of smoking materials. 

 

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said:

 

This incident shows just how vital it is to have working smoke alarms.  It's also a timely reminder for smokers to ensure your cigarette is completely out when you’ve finished smoking it. If you don’t, you risk causing a fire which could not only destroy your home, but also cost you your life.

 

 

Smoking safety top tips

  • It's safer to smoke outside, but make sure cigarettes are put right out and disposed of properly.
  • Never smoke in bed, and avoid smoking on arm chairs and sofas – especially if you think you might fall asleep.
  • Take extra care when you’re tired, taking prescription drugs or if you’ve been drinking alcohol.
  • Use proper ashtrays, which can’t tip over and stub cigarettes out properly.

 

The Brigade was called at 1805 and the fire was under control by 2034. Fire crews from Wembley, Park Royal and Stanmore fire stations were in attendance.

 

A spokesperson for Quintain Ltd  said:

I can confirm this was not a Quintain building, nor is it managed by Quintain Living.

This fire came after one in South Kilburn on Friday  which again had no working fire alarms:


Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to a fire at a maisonette on Stafford Road in Kilburn.

The whole of the fourth floor of a split level maisonette was destroyed by fire. 

Fire investigators found the property didn't have working smoke alarms and the fire was most likely caused by the unsafe disposal of smoking materials. 

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said

This incident shows just how vital it is to have working smoke alarms.  

It's also a timely reminder for smokers to ensure your cigarette is completely out when you’ve finished smoking it.

If you don’t, you risk causing a fire which could not only destroy your home, but also cost you your life.

Smoking safety top tips

  • It's safer to smoke outside, but make sure cigarettes are put right out and disposed of properly.
  • Never smoke in bed, and avoid smoking on arm chairs and sofas – especially if you think you might fall asleep.
  • Take extra care when you’re tired, taking prescription drugs or if you’ve been drinking alcohol.
  • Use proper ashtrays, which can’t tip over and stub cigarettes out properly.
The Brigade was called at 2118 and the incident was over by 2246. Fire crews from Paddington, North Kensington, West Hampstead and Kentish Town fire stations were in attendance.



Monday 1 January 2024

Guest post: Why we should commemorate the British Empire Exhibition in 2024

New Year Greetings to Wembley Matters readers with hopes for peace in the year ahead. 

We start the year with a guest post by local historian Philip Grant. I remember celebrating Empire Day as a pupil at Kingsbury Green Primary School in the 1950s. It became Commonwealth Day on May 24th 1958. The British Empire is now part of contested history so please note Philip's invitation at the end of his article to comment or submit a blog post. Many people in Brent, or their parents' generation will have had direct personal experience of the Empire in one way or another. 

Let the debate begin...

This article as with all guest posts and letters represents the writer's own views.

 

 

Happy New Year! It’s 2024, one hundred years on from 1924. This year will be the centenary of the British Empire Exhibition (“BEE”) at Wembley Park. I’m aware there are some who don’t want the word “Empire” to be mentioned in today’s diverse multicultural Brent, but I believe we should commemorate one of the most important events in Wembley’s history. It was a spectacle that brought people from around the world, to show-off their countries and cultures to around 17 million visitors. We can learn from it what the world was like then, and use it as a starting point for discussion of what the past of “Empire” has meant from different perspectives.

 

Postcard showing an aerial view of the Exhibition site, from the west.
(Brent Archives – Wembley History Society Collection)

 

The 216-acre Exhibition site at Wembley Park was chosen in 1921, because it was close to London, with good railway access. A number of local roads had to be improved and widened to make it more accessible for lorries, cars and buses. Construction began on the “Empire Stadium” in January 1922, and although that was completed in time for the F.A. Cup Final in 1923, the rest of the BEE buildings were only just finished in time for the Exhibition’s opening ceremony on 23 April 1924. In his opening address, King George V described it as: ‘… a graphic illustration of that spirit of free and tolerant co-operation which has inspired peoples of different races, creeds and ways of thought to unite in a single commonwealth and to contribute their varying national gifts to one great end.’  (You may think otherwise!)

 

A plan of the Exhibition site in 1924. (Brent Archives – WHS Collection)

 

I hope to write more about the Exhibition itself, and share many more illustrations from it, later in the year. As well as the individual “pavilions” showcasing the 56 nations taking part, there were large “palaces” promoting the arts, industry and engineering achievements of Britain itself. Improving trade throughout the Empire was an important aim of the BEE. Another was: ‘to enable all who owe allegiance to the British flag to meet on common ground and learn to know each other.’ (I think that was a step forward.)

 

A newspaper cutting from late March 1924. (Brent Archives – WHS Collection)

 

King George V had visited much of the British Empire, first as a young prince serving in the Royal Navy, then on a tour as Prince of Wales, as well as a long visit to India during his first year as King. Imperialism was ingrained among in British society by then, with the ruling classes seeing this country as superior in civilisation and culture, and entitled to exploit the resources of its colonies. King George, however, did view the Empire as a family of nations, with Britain as the parent, the four large Dominions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa) as daughters, and the other nations as cousins.

 

Gramophone record label for messages from the King and Queen, played to children on Empire Day.
(Photographed from the collection of the late Alan Sabey in 2014)

 

“Empires” have existed for thousands of years, as has slavery. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the southern part of the British Isles was added to the Roman Empire by conquest, and those tribal kingdoms, which made up what is now this country, that did not submit to Roman rule were overcome by force, and many of their people enslaved.

 

Britain did not set out to establish an empire, but it was one of several European nations which gradually built one. From the late 16th century onwards, overseas colonies were established by British traders, or companies issued with a Royal Charter. By the 17th century, colonies in the West Indies and the Americas were importing slaves from Africa to work on agricultural plantations, with Britain at the forefront of this Atlantic “trade”. 

 

I studied history at school up to “A” level, but in the 1960s we were not taught much detail about how these European empires were built up through a succession of wars, against each other and the native people of the lands they stole. I’m still learning now, most recently through the BBC series “The Australian Wars”. By the mid-19th century, the British Government had taken control over what was now regarded as the British Empire, with the different countries administered by appointed Governors. It was an Act of Parliament in 1876, not any rulers of its many states, which awarded an additional title to Queen Victoria: Empress of India!

 

A Queen Victoria penny coin from 1897. (Penny image from the internet)

 

I will use what appears to be a rather bland photograph, taken inside the British Guiana Pavilion at the BEE in 1924, as an example of how the Exhibition can help to illustrate a more realistic, and uncomfortable, history of the British Empire. It shows a display of sugar crystals, one of the nation’s main exports at the time, but it is the name “Demerara” which triggers memories of British Guiana’s past.

 

A BEE photograph by Harlesden photographer, Fred L. Wilson. (Brent Archives – WHS Collection)

 

Las Guayanas was an area on the north coast of South America, “discovered” and named by the Spanish, and first settled on a small scale by them and the Portuguese. Demerara was colonised by the Dutch West Indies Company in the 17th century, and by the mid-18th century there were also English settlers there, moving in from Barbados to develop larger sugar cane plantations, using African slave labour. A treaty signed during the Napoleonic Wars transferred “ownership” of part of the Guianas, including Demerara, to Britain, alongside the Dutch and French Guianas.

 

In 1812, businessman John Gladstone bought several plantations in the new British Guiana. Although Britain had abolished the slave trade in 1807, ownership of existing slaves continued, and those in Demerara were worked hard to produce sugar, and profit, for the plantation owners. Abolitionists in Britain continued to argue for better working conditions (a 12-hour working day, Sunday as a day of rest, no flogging of women slaves), and although these were approved in Westminster, plantation owners in British Guiana refused to implement them.

 

1823 saw a slave “rebellion” in Demerara, led by Jack Gladstone (the same surname as his “owner”), seeking the improvements they had heard about from British missionaries. It was a largely peaceful protest by the slaves, but it was violently put down by British forces and the colony’s white militia. Emancipation of the slaves finally came in 1834, with their owners receiving substantial compensation from the British Government for the loss of their “property”.

 

How did the plantation owners keep their sugar cane fields profitable without slave labour? I didn’t know the answer until the 1990s, when I was working in an office in Wembley. One of my colleagues, Rafique, was born in British Guiana (called Guyana, since its independence in 1966). In researching his family history, he found the names of his grandparents as passengers on a ship from Calcutta (Kolkata) in the 1890s. They were Bengali Muslims, being transported to British Guiana as “indentured labour”.

 

Within weeks of emancipation, a British firm in Calcutta was recruiting local unemployed Indian men to work on plantations in Mauritius. They put their mark on a contract (that most of them couldn’t read), which bound them to work overseas for five years for a few rupees a day. John Gladstone heard of this, and in 1838 he asked the firm to recruit ‘young, active, able-bodied labourers’ to work on his estates. 

 

Indentured workers from India in the West Indies, 1880. (The National Archives)

 

Between then and 1917, when the practice was ended, nearly 240,000 indentured workers from India were shipped to British Guiana. Less than a third of them were repatriated. Even though their contracts promised free passage home, the plantation owners often found ways to deny this to them. They were given new contracts, and when re-indenture was prohibited in the 1870s, they were encouraged to settle in Demerara, and offered work for low wages.

 

How Britain got its Demerara sugar is history. We can’t change the terrible injustices which took place for centuries across the British Empire, but nor should we try to hide them. Brent, and Britain, will be a better place if we all understand, and acknowledge, the wrongs (and a few slightly more positive aspects) of the British Empire. 

 

The centenary of the BEE provides a great opportunity for learning what people with their roots from across the former Empire feel about its history, especially if they can share more widely the views of earlier generations, passed down by word of mouth or in writing. Brent Archives contains a lot of information on the BEE, from a British perspective, and that can be used as a starting point for discussion.

 

Some of the residents of the BEE’s Nigerian village in 1924. (Brent Archives – WHS Collection)

 

The photo above, from an album donated to Wembley History Society in 1964, shows some of Nigerians who lived and worked at the BEE for seven months. I used illustrations from the album in an online article and a talk during the 90th anniversary year. The “village” they lived in was recreated in the BEE’s West African Walled City, where they displayed their crafts, and sold the goods they had made, to visitors. They were silversmiths, leather workers, weavers, potters, wood carvers and a bead polisher, from across Nigeria.

 

Bala and his brother Mamman, from Kano, featured in a postcard on sale at the BEE.
(Brent Archives – Wembley History Society Collection)

 

When I gave a talk on “Wembley’s Nigerian Village, 1924” to the Society in 2014, a Nigerian man came. He had seen it advertised, and could hardly believe that there had been people from his home country in Wembley ninety years earlier. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ask him for his views on what he had seen and heard.

 

I’ve set out my thoughts on why we should be commemorating the British Empire Exhibition’s centenary, and using it as a chance to share different views. One writer has already done that with a letter about the “Decolonising Wembley” project, and Wembley History Society will be welcoming him as a speaker at its meeting on 16 February.

 

Now it is over to you! With Martin’s permission, I’m issuing an invitation to anyone reading this, with their roots in countries from the former British (or other) Empire(s), to contribute comments below, or guest posts for publication on “Wembley Matters”. Please share your perspective on Empire, and particularly any stories you know from relatives about what it was like living in one of the 56 nations represented at the BEE.


Philip Grant.

Friday 17 November 2023

The Wembley bus that disappears on Event Days

 England play Malta tonight at Wembley Stadium so once again the 206 bus that runs between Kilburn Park and The Paddocks in Wembley Park will be curtailed at Bridge Park:


Kick-Off isn't until 7.45pm but the bus stops running at 2.45pm affecting secondary school pupils travelling towards Harlesden.

Stops affected:


Residents have been trying to get the Council to do something about this for decades and the need is now greater because of the increased number of events at the stadium. A local residents submitted a question to Krupa Sheth to try to pin down when the promised introduction of full working on event days will be implented:

 

Question from Peggy Wylie to Councillor Krupa Sheth (Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action)

 

The 206 bus route is for many living in the Kings Drive, The Paddocks, Salmon Street area a real necessity. However, when there is an event scheduled at Wembley Stadium no 206 service is provided to the area after 11.00/noon (or even earlier) because the service is curtailed at Brent Park.

 

The suspension of this service to the Wembley Park, Kings Drive, The Paddocks and Salmon Street area disproportionately affects our most vulnerable residents - the elderly, disabled, parents with small children and women travelling home alone at night. It also affects people needing to travel from this area to reach their place of employment and in particular those that work for Tesco, IKEA.

 

 

Brent's local plan for our area proposed the opening of North End Road to allow traffic to and from Bridge Road, Wembley Park, which would enable the 206 to serve our area on event days. The changes to the road layout have been completed and yet we are still deprived of our bus on event days.

 

As a result, can the Cabinet Member for Environment, Infrastructure & Climate Action advise if the combined forces of the London Borough of Brent, Transport for London ("Every journey matters!") and Wembley Stadium Limited will listen and take note of residents' needs and finally commit to seeking an urgent and permanent solution allowing the 206 bus to run its full route to the Paddocks on Wembley Stadium event days?

 

Response:

 

Transport for London (TfL) are responsible for the provision of bus services in London and consult on route changes and frequencies to improve services and efficiency.

 

Brent liaises with TfL on the bus services provided in the borough and requests improvements to satisfy the needs of residents and businesses. Brent also liaises with TfL buses for Wembley Stadium events where it is necessary to curtail / divert services for security. However, the council is committed to implementing infrastructure improvements identified under the Wembley Area Action plan and

recently completed the North End Road connection and Wembley 2 Way working projects which will enable bus services to be provided via this route on stadium event days in the future.

 

TfL carried out a consultation earlier this year on proposed changes to bus routes 92, 206 and 440 through the Wembley Park area with a view to simplifying the bus network following the introduction of two-way working arrangements in the area and which would allow for services to continue to serve the area on event days. The plan below outlines the proposals for all three services.

 

 


 

Following the consultation and following subsequent route tests, TfL has advised that the proposed changes to routes 92 and 440 will now go ahead, but a revised change to route 206 is to be implemented. This is due to the need for further works to signalise the junction at Bridge Road/North End Road (which is planned) control parking, and to strengthen a culvert. The latter is now required in order to support the intention to introduce electric buses on the 206 route. As such, and for the immediate future at least, route 206 will continue to serve Fulton Road and Rutherford road (see plan below). It is intended that all these changes will be introduced during 2024.

 

 


 

 

The Council will continue to work with TfL to deliver improvements to bus services through the area on stadium event days and throughout the borough.

 

Editor's Note:

 

On event days I often find people at The Paddocks bus stop vainly waiting for a 206 bus. At the weekend this is often after they have been walking in Fryent Country Park. They have sometimes waited for an hour. Public tramsport acess to the Park should be enouraged.

At Brent Park you find confused passengers told to disembark, milling around trying to find an alternative  route home. Often quite young school pupils are stranded.

Sunday 12 November 2023

Newland Court resident: 'The site is not a good or viable long term option for houses. We ask that the Councillors deny the application.'

This is a letter written to Brent Council by a resident of Newland Court, Wembley Park. The Council's planning application will be heard at Brent Planning Committee on Wednesday. 

Dear Brent Councillors and Committee members, 

 

I am a resident at Newland court and wish to express my dismay and concern at the Newland Court infill proposals.

 

By the Council’s own admission the residents have raised 45 objections affecting:

  1. Impact of the development on the trees within the Barn Hill Conservation Area (a designated Heritage site)
  2. Accuracy of the submission
  3. Design and massing
  4. Wildlife and ecology
  5. Flood risk
  6. Parking reduction 
  7. Highway and antisocial behaviour
  8. Safety concerns
  9. Noise concerns 
  10. Mental health impact 
  11. Equalities concern

 

In their response, the Council have themselves acknowledged that the proposals will cause HARM, yet they have:

  1. Provided yourselves with false/inaccurate/misleading/unsubstantiated information to provide assurances in favour of the development (examples of such false/inaccurate/misleading information is provided below)
  2. Disregarded the reports of Council’s own officers (eg. Transport officer, Heritage officer, Tree officers etc) highlighting the flaws with the proposal and recommending for the proposal not to be accepted. (examples also provided below).
  3. Brushed aside all objections by such broad-brush statements as " The potential harm is outweighed by the overall planning benefits of the scheme". Despite acknowledging the HARM, they brush them to one side, without providing any basis, or analysis on which their 'conclusion' is reached. Were potential benefit and harm criteria determined against which an unbiased analysis could be undertaken? Was there any verifiable, transparent and jointly agreed assessment carried out? No. Just broad brush statements to give you, our Councillors, false assurance to get your "yes" vote. 

 

Please don't let yourselves be hoodwinked or used through these tactics. Act fairly and with discernment. Your decision will impact the lives of many and will lead to a problem development that will be long remembered for its flawed decision-making. What is the legacy you want to leave behind? How do you want to be remembered for what you did?  

 

Examples of inaccurate/false/misleading/unsubstantiated statements provided by the Council include: 

 

 1. The Council states that “the majority of residents that expressed support for the proposed development” - This statement is incorrect and without any basis

We have asked the Council to provide the list of flats/residents who support the proposals and they have failed to provide this. The majority of residents and those living on Grendon Gardens OPPOSE this development and this is evidenced by the 45 letters of objections which the residents have raised. You need to challenge these statements made by the Council to provide you with false assurance.

 

2. The Council’s Ecological Report says that “the site does not lie within an Ecological site” but that despite this they carried out an Ecological survey. 

Yet the Council uses a chart survey dated 2007, which is outdated and ignores Philip Grant’s 2023 follow up Ecological Report which identified species of protected Bats  in the trees by the garages (protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and regulations Act 1984).  

 

3. The Council’s Arboricultural Report has mis-categorised a number of trees, provided incorrect and unsubstantiated claims about previous pruning of these trees and contradict Julie Hughes, Brent Councils’ own Tree Officers report and Grendon Gardens Arboricultural tree report.

 

4. The Council’s Submission on parking originally falsely stated that we had NO parking and their proposals increase our parking by 12! (See the image taken from their application below for yourselves)

 



Although the parking spaces were increased to 28, this provides an example of the level of false information that has been presented. We have 41 car parking spaces (which is not enough as it is) and the Council under its current plans plan to only provide 28.  

 

The Council’s Submission says that no new public roads are being created within the site and no new public right of way is being given. Yet this is exactly what is happening. Our Private Road is being turned into a Public Road with public access.

 


 

 

5) Open spaces: Council’s application states that there is no loss or change of use of any open spaces. Yet they are planning to build a play area in the one open space we have inside Newland Court.

 

 




Brent Council's application is regrettably riddled with such false claims and the proposals are built on this false foundation. 

 

Examples of the Council disregarding the recommendations of its own officers  include:

  1. Brent's own Heritage Officer has concerns about the uncharacteristically narrow modern dwelling at the end of the row of traditional properties and the harm it will do to the conservation area. 
  2. Brent’s own Transport Officer had recommended refusal of the proposal on the grounds that the development would:
  • be contrary to Local Plan Policy BT2
  • the imposition of parking restrictions for the existing residents would not be reasonable, as their properties do not form part of the planning application. 
  • add to on-street parking demand in an area that is unable to safely accommodate a significant amount of parking
  • be detrimental to on-street parking conditions 
  1. Brent’s own Tree Officer has serious concerns about impact on the trees (which fall within the Barn Hill Conservation area) if this proposal goes ahead.

The Site is not a good or viable long term option for houses. We ask that the Councillors deny the application. 

 

 

 

Thursday 12 October 2023

New replacement 'Super GP Surgery' to open in Wembley Park providing space for 16 GPs from March 2024

 

Quintain yesterday announced a new GP ‘super surgery’ to open at the heart of Wembley Park. When operational, it will be the largest NHS GP practice in the borough of Brent, serving up to 25,000 patients.

Quintain said:

The 11,000 sq. ft space will be operated by Wembley Park Medical Centre, relocating from Wembley Park Drive to Humphry Repton Lane close to Olympic Way and Boxpark Wembley, a 10-minute walk from their old premises.

The build will create state-of-the-art general practice medical spaces including two clinical suites, 14 consult exam rooms, four treatment rooms, and an e-consult room. It has been designed with a double height reception and waiting area into the ground floor of the Repton Gardens residential development at the heart of Wembley Park.

The announcement of the NHS super surgery is a significant milestone in the delivery of the Wembley Park neighbourhood, which has been planned from the start to provide all the community facilities everyone needs within easy reach. 

The surgery will be delivered by Quintain as part of the Repton Gardens development, designed by architects The Manser Practice, a team with award-winning experience in the healthcare sector. The surgery will provide enough space for 16 GPs and is set to open to the public from March 2024.

Monday 25 September 2023

Murder investigation after Olympic Way fatal stabbing late yesterday. Witnesses sought by Met

 

From the Metropolitan Police


Detectives are appealing for witnesses and information following a murder in north London.
Police were called just after 23.00hrs on Sunday, 24 September to Olympic Way, Wembley to reports of a stabbing.


Officers attended the location where they discovered a man – aged in his mid-20s - with stab injuries. They immediately commenced CPR ahead of the arrival, a short time later, of colleagues from the London Ambulance Service, who continued to treat the victim. He was taken by ambulance to a north London hospital, but was sadly pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
 

The victim’s next of kin have been informed, however we await formal identification at this time. A post mortem examination will be held in due course.
 

Detectives from Specialist Crime North have launched an investigation and are carrying out various lines of inquiry as they attempt to identify those responsible.


No arrests have been made at this time.


Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers said: 

"My team are working at pace to establish what has led to this tragic incident, and as we continue to carry out numerous inquiries to trace and speak to witnesses, as well as analysing CCTV footage, we are appealing to the public to help us.


"We understand the victim was chased and attacked by a group of suspects. Were you in the area at the time? Did you see anything suspicious? Any detail – no matter how small – could assist us with our investigation so please do come forward and speak to police. Information can also be passed on anonymously via Crimestoppers.”


Chief Superintendent Dan Knowles, who is in charge of policing in Brent, said:
 

“My thoughts, and those of all my officers, are with the family and friends of this young man who has very tragically lost his life far too soon. I know that this incident will raise serious concern and worry in the community, and want to assure the all those affected that our colleagues from the Specialist Crime Command are working tirelessly to find those responsible, and local officers are assisting them in every way possible.


"The public can help us in this endeavour by speaking to officers if they have any information which could be relevant to the investigation. There will be more officers in and around the area in the coming days to provide reassurance. Please do speak to them with any concerns you have or information you would like to pass on."
 

Anyone with information which could assist the investigation team is asked
to call the incident room on 0208 345 3715 or 101 - quoting CAD7764/24Sep. To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555  111