[Reposted from Feb 2010] Colindale Area Action Plan approved by Barnet Cabinet

Councillor Melvin Cohen
Cabinet Member for Planning and Environmental Protection

As a successful city-suburb of a world class city, Barnet plays a major role in London’s success, attracting people to the city with the necessary skills to enable it to compete effectively at a global level. Whilst recognising current economic conditions are uncertain, over the long term, Barnet remains London’s fastest growing outer London borough and has a prosperous future. Our Three Strands Approach to planning, development and regeneration: Protect, Enhance and Grow, establishes a boroughwide strategy to protect our most important open and green spaces, enhance our existing centres and quality residential suburban neighbourhoods and plans for growth in appropriate brownfield locations and areas in need of regeneration and renewal. Colindale, located in the west of the Borough, has an important role in all of these priorities, especially Strand 3: Growth, as Barnet’s largest housing-led regeneration area.

Colindale is already identified in the London Plan and Barnet’s adopted Unitary Development Plan as an area that could support significant new development with new housing and jobs. Our aim is to ensure that growth in Colindale is focused around an accessible and attractive new neighbourhood centre that serves the everyday needs of local people combined with an exciting transport gateway interchange at Colindale Underground Station. It is essential that Colindale provides the full range of community and education services that are so important for communities to flourish. New areas of housing will be linked to existing neighbourhoods by an improved network of streets and quality green open spaces. The Council, with its partners, has prepared this Area Action Plan to provide a comprehensive but flexible long term strategy to manage change and deliver high quality sustainable development in Colindale.

Barnet Times: "Oriental City in Colindale to be demolished for new supermarket, homes and Far Eastern food court"

Link to web site

"Plans to redevelop the derelict former Oriental City site in Colindale into new homes, a supermarket and a Asian food court have been unveiled.

"The proposal by Development Securities, the owner of the site which closed in June 2008 and has fallen into disrepair, would see the current building demolished to make way for a new Morrison’s store, 223 townhouses and apartments and a replacement Oriental market.

"The company says the 34,000 sq m development would create 700 jobs while providing much-needed new homes and a shopping centre for the area, while staying true to the history of the site."

LB of Barnet: "Multi-Million pound boost for the regeneration of Colindale"

Published Tuesday 31 July 2012

"Barnet Council has announced a series of new measures to support the regeneration of Colindale in the west of the borough. 

"The regeneration of Colindale will see 10,000 new homes built in the area over the next 15 years. The area is one of Barnet`s priority regeneration areas.

"The Barnet Council total investment of up to £10m, which will go ahead when matched by Genesis Homes and the government`s Housing and Community Agency, will be split between improving the “public realm” in Colindale and underwriting 400 new homes in the next phase of the redevelopment of Grahame Park.

" 'Public realm' improvements will support development along Colindale Avenue and Grahame Park Way, by widening and redesigning part of Colindale Avenue to improve the pedestrian route through Grahame Park Way, down to Colindale Tube Station.

"A land swap is proposed with Barnet College, making land available for a potential new primary school and building a new college building and public library within the development at Lanacre Avenue.

Councillor Richard Cornelius, Leader of the council said:

"This council is determined to keep the rebuilding of this estate on track. Completion of this phase will make the area more attractive and help the private sector sell other new properties in Colindale. 

"We can help get people on the housing ladder by using the council`s borrowing power to give impetus to the scheme whilst retaining the security of bricks and mortar to secure the reimbursement of tax payers money. 
The council will also make a return on the investment and boost the local job market.”

Barnet Times: "Barnet Council pledges £5million pot to encourage buyers to dilapidated Grahame Park Estate in Colindale"

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"House hunters will be encouraged to invest in the regeneration of the dilapidated Grahame Park estate, with a £5million cash pot from Barnet Council.

"The authority has promised the subsidies, along with another £5million to 'spruce up' roads and infrastructure, in what it describes as a 'priority regeneration area'.

"Fewer flats than expected have been sold within the regeneration project, holding up plans to build 10,000 homes over the next 15 years in the Colindale area.

Barnet Times: "Wild Bird Week at Royal Air Force Museum" (Wild? There're really angry.)

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"Falcons, owls, hawks and eagles will be landing at the Royal Air Force Museum this summer.

The museum in in [sic] Aerodrome Road, Colindale, will hold daily falconry displays at 11.30am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm as part of Wild Bird Week, from Monday, July 30 to Sunday, August 5.

Daily Mail: "A third of first-time buyers are 35 or over, compared to one in ten a decade ago"

Link to Daily Mail

"... The huge increase highlights the struggle young people face, as they try to get a foothold on the housing ladder."

"... Research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed the number of first-time buyers under 30 who need help from their parents to purchase a property is also soaring.

"Last year around 80 per cent had ‘financial assistance’ – typically from the so-called ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ – compared with 35 per cent in 2005."

Daily Telegraph: "'Repossession hot spot' map reveals homeowners most at risk of losing their houses"

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"Families living in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham are twice as likely as the average British person to have their homes repossessed, a study has revealed. 

"Research compiled by homeless charity Shelter found those living in the borough are at the highest risk of having their houses repossessed, closely followed by Knowsley in the North West and Thurrock in the East of England. 

"The charity has now constructed a map of repossession 'hot spots', and claimed to have revealed a 'strong link' with rising unemployment."

BBC: "What future for social housing?"

Link to BBC web site (see other tabs also)

"... Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government built more than a million homes, 80% of which were council houses, largely to replace those destroyed by Hitler.

"The house-building boom continued when the Conservatives returned to power in 1951, but the emphasis shifted at the end of the decade towards slum clearance, as millions were uprooted from cramped, rundown inner-city terraces and re-housed in purpose-built new towns or high rise blocks.

"A generation was introduced to the joys of indoor toilets, front and rear gardens, and landscaped housing estates where, as the town planners boasted, a tree could be seen from every window."

Barnet Times: "Fun day for Grahame Park residents in Colindale"

Link to Barnet Times

"An annual fun day was held for the residents of Grahame Park on Saturday.

"Nearly 500 people attended the event, which took place in Heybourne Park, and was organised by Genesis Housing Group who are managing the regeneration of Grahame Park."

Evening Standard: "Why buying a house in London is still CHEAPER than renting"

Link to Evening Standard

"Stepping on to the property ladder instead of renting will save people almost £200,000 over a lifetime, according to research today.

"The report by Barclays showed that the average total of buying, paying mortgages and maintaining a home costs £429,000 over 50 years, not even accounting for the value of the home at the end, compared with £623,000 in rent."

What House: "New homes launched in Colindale"

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"Genesis has announced the launch of The Tower, the latest collection of brand new apartments, at New Hendon Village in Colindale, North West London, featuring a total of 39 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with prices starting from £195,000.

"All new homes at The Tower, a seven-storey building situated at the head of Heybourne Park, will include at least one large balcony or terrace, many looking out onto the parkland."

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Brent & Kilburn Times: "Fri 15, Sat 16 June: Consultation on Oriental City site in Colindale"

Link to Brent & Kilburn Times

"Developers will be holding a two-day exhibition where they will showcase their plans for the former Oriental City site in Colindale.

"Proposals for the land in Edgware Road, which had been dubbed London’s ‘real China Town’ before its closure in 2008, will see it transformed into a new Oriental and Far Eastern shopping centre.

"The mixed-used development will include a state-of-the-art Morrisons foodstore, 223 new townhouses and apartments, including family and affordable housing, a 270-seat restaurant, 600-seat foodcourt, and 11 other outlets dedicated to oriental and far eastern retail.

"There will be 580 car parking spaces for shoppers and residents."

Daily Telegraph: "Housing market is 'broken'"

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"The housing market is broken and overcrowding is getting worse, a report warns, as official figures show the number of new homes started by house builders in England fell again in the first three months of the year.

"... Housing minister Grant Shapps said housing plans were taking centre stage in the economic recovery. But he added:

"I am under no illusions that we still have a long way to go. That is why we are continually striving to introduce measures to help those in need.

I am determined to ensure support is available to those not wanting to buy, which is why I want councils to use the full range of powers at their disposal to help those at risk of homelessness."

Barnet Times: "Crashed wartime fighter winging its way from Sahara to Hendon RAF Museum"

Link to Barnet Times

"A Second World War fighter plane that crash landed in the vast abyss of the Sahara desert almost 70 years ago could be winging its way to a Hendon museum after it was miraculously discovered largely intact.

"The stray Kittyhawk P-40 (similar to the one pictured) went down over Egypt on June 28, 1942, as British RAF pilots came under attack from German general Erwin Rommel."

Barnet Times: "Colindale charity launches anti-domestic violence campaign"

Link to web site

"An anti-domestic violence charity has launched a campaign to raise awareness of the issue.

"Domestic Violence UK, which is coordinated from Colindale, hopes its 'Inspire Hope – Be A Voice' campaign will shatter the silence surrounding domestic abuse.

"The campaign, which will run throughout May, includes awareness-raising and the launch of a new publication called Mutual Support Magazine."

Barnet Times: "BBC documentary explores Colindale restoration project"

Link to Barnet Times

"The restoration of two buildings in Colindale belonging to the Royal Air Force will feature in a television documentary.

"The Grahame-White Factory and Watch Office, in Colindale, both built in 1915, were dismantled brick by brick from their original site in Aerodrome Road, Colindale, and rebuilt at the RAF Museum in Grahame Park Way."

Barnet Times: "Exhibition of sport in the RAF opens in Colindale"

Link to Barnet Times

"Colindale’s Royal Air Force Museum will open its latest exhibition tomorrow.

"From 22 March until 20 September, the museum will display a free exhibition on sports in the RAF."

Barnet Times: "Three hundred new homes for Barnet"

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"The borough’s Beaufort Park development [has been] announced as one of the successful bidders assessed by the Homes and Communities Agency.

"The news follows an announcement earlier this year that £5million has been allocated for a massive 3,000 home regeneration project in Grahame Park, Colindale."

Out-Law: "Barnet Council consults on proposed single flat rate Community Infrastructure Levy"

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"Barnet Council has published its preliminary draft Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) charging schedule for consultation.

"The preliminary draft states that 'the council has ensured that it is a rate affordable for all viable development proposals brought forwards' whilst recognising that this will secure, overall, a lower rate than under section 106 legal agreements, 'but sees this as its contribution towards ensuring growth in new housing can continue in Barnet'.

Barnet Times: "Outrage as housing association fells trees"

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"The systematic destruction of ancient oak trees by Genesis Housing Association has outraged a Colindale woman.

"As part of the Grahame Park Redevelopment Scheme, Genesis has spent the last few days removing trees from Grahame Park Way. Sandhya Rahi, a freelance film-maker from nearby Beaufort Park, is distraught by the loss of these ancient landmarks."