Construction Enquirer: "Mace tipped for £35m Hendon Police training college"

Mace is set to be picked out of the line-up of contractors [get-it?] chasing a £35m building contract for new police training facilities in north London.

The new Metropolitan Police training centre in Colindale, Hendon will replace the existing Peel Centre in Aerodrome Road and is being planned as part of a full-scale overhaul of the force’s land holdings.

A wider regeneration programme is planned which will eventually see land given up for new homes, shops and a primary school. [Don't be too sure.]

According to projects sources several firms including Bam Construct and Geoffrey Osborne were chasing the big rebuild project but Mace Projects is now favourite to take the deal.
The new training centre will involve demolition of existing buildings and construction of two buildings, with one up to four storeys in height. Architect on the project is Bennetts Associates.
Mace will also be responsible for the relocation of the Grade II Listed Sir Robert Peel Statue and Police Call Boxes as well as creating a new memorial garden.

Jane Bond, director of property services for the Metropolitan Police, said:

”Our Hendon Training Centre has a reputation as one of the world’s leading police training facilities, with a long proud history. If planning permission is granted, our proposals will enable us to provide suitable training facilities for future generations of police officers.

We will also create an opportunity for the remainder of the 73 acre site to be opened up for the benefit of the public at some point in the future.” [Does that mean a grubby property deal?]

Barnet Times: "Brent Council approves Edgware Road Oriental City development"

Link to web site

"A plan to redevelop the derelict Oriental City site into homes and shops was approved at a council meeting last night.

"Brent Borough Council formally backed proposals by developer Development Securities to regenerate the seven-acre site at 399 Edgware Road, which closed in June 2008 and has fallen into disrepair.

"The development, which will create more than 800 jobs, will include a new 80,000sq ft Morrisons supermarket, 183 new houses and flats and new oriental and far eastern retail and restaurant space."

Barnet Times: "Plans for new Metropolitan Police training centre submitted to Barnet Borough Council"

Link to web site

"The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime has submitted its plans to build a new Metropolitan Police training centre in Colindale.

"MOPAC will replace the existing Peel Centre in Aerodrome Road if the planning application is given the go-ahead by Barnet Borough Council.

"The application seeks to create new training and operational space, housing approximately 2,000 officers and staff on the site."

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"The Peel Centre project team is pleased to inform you that the London Borough of Barnet has registered the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) planning application for the redevelopment of the Peel Centre site in Colindale.

"The application seeks permission to develop new training and operational facilities fit for 21st century policing. The new facilities will replace the current outdated buildings and make more efficient use of space, housing a similar number of staff to current levels on a much smaller site.

"The Met’s proposals represent the fourth evolution of the Peel Centre site since it was first developed in the 1930s, highlighting the ever-changing needs of the Metropolitan Police.

Our first public exhibition in September 2012 showed proposals for the new police facilities alongside an emerging masterplan for the wider site which would form part of a separate planning application. In recognition of the need to replace the existing police buildings and the longer timescales that apply to the wider regeneration, it was decided to re-phase the two applications. As a result, the second exhibition, held in March 2013, focused only on the new MOPAC facilities.

"Throughout the eight months of public consultation; over 190 people attended the exhibitions, around 50 people submitted written comments on the proposals and the consultation website had over 7,000 unique visitors. Many local residents and stakeholders expressed their support for the plans and indicated that they understood the need for change. In response to feedback received during the consultation, MOPAC and the Metropolitan Police Service decided to retain Building 36, a building of historical interest from the site’s days as the Hendon Aerodrome.

"The planning application for the Peel Centre site has been registered by the London Borough of Barnet under reference number H/01571/13. A related application regarding the relocation of the Grade II Listed Sir Robert Peel Statue and Police Call Box Structure has been registered under reference number H/01613/13.

"I hope you find this update helpful. If you would like any further information please email us at comments@peelcentresite.co.uk or phone 0800 881 5288 and leave a message and a member of the team will get back to you.

"The public consultation period ends on 29 May 2013."

Barnet Press: Peel Centre playing fields (Not that old chestnut)

Barnet Times: Peel Centre playing fields

Evening Standard: Met Police Peel Centre grubby property deal by Boris (to be reasonably objective)

Peel Centre: Pre-Application Consultation

Met Police Peel Centre March 2013

Second public exhibition:
Focused solely on new training and operational facilities for the Metropolitan Police Service

"We want to hear from you. Please send your comments to:
FREEPOST, PEEL CENTRE SITE

"We will need to receive comments by Friday 12 April 2013.
Alternatively you can get in touch with the project team with any questions, by email to: comments@peelcentresite.co.uk or phone 0800 881 5288."

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The earlier consultation, about the whole site:

Public Consulation on Peel Centre, October 2012

Barnet Press: "Fury over parking restrictions"

Link to web site

"RESIDENTS at a new housing block in Colindale are furious over new parking restrictions imposed by the firm managing the estate.

"...A spokesman for Crabtree, which manages the estate on behalf of developer Fairview, said:

"The scheme was a planning restriction imposed by Barnet Council in order to prevent misuse of the available parking bays by non-residents such as those using the nearby tube station.

We have issued a permit to each leaseholder to use in any unallocated bay on a first come first serve basis in accordance with the parking strategy plan. Every household is entitled to a parking permit and visitor permits are available upon request."

Barnet Times: "Mum-of-one plans to set up a community association for Colindale and Burnt Oak"

Link to web site

"A mum-of-one is eager to set up a community association to 'improve and develop' Colindale and Burnt Oak.

"Cherry James moved to Braemer Gardens, Colindale, nine months ago with her five-year-old son Jaden and her husband Lincoln.

"Despite loving her new home, she thinks the area could be rejuvenated with the help of a ready and willing residents group."

Barnet Times: "Grahame Park Estate in Colindale given £30,000 pot for clubs and activities"

Link to web site

"Community groups on Barnet’s biggest council estate can bid for a share of £30,000 to set up their own clubs and activities.

"The pot has been put on offer by housing association Barnet Homes and Genesis, which is overseeing a £450million regeneration of the Grahame Park Estate in Colindale."

"The Market vs Planning – Who’s Kicking Out Ugly?"

Link to web site

"With the greatest respect to the people of Colindale, it’s one of those places that has been pretty badly served over the years by the property development industry and the planning system when it comes to high quality urban design and place making. Unfortunately it hasn’t got a centre, which is always a bad start for a place.

Your first sight and site as you leave the tube is a pretty horrendous new Fairview development of the old hospital. I’m not picking on Fairview because, despite their poor reputation, they have another smaller scheme just down the road which, while simple, is reasonable. This development is surrounded by older housing, but there are a couple of other big new developments, one by St George (part of the Berkeley Group) called Beaufort Park, and one by housing association Genesis regenerating the old Grahame Park Estate.

"There are also some huge potential sites, including the site of the existing Barnet College and various large bits of Metropolitan Police land. Colindale is officially a growth area, with plans for 10,000 new homes and room for more. It also has some high-quality jobs and a pretty good location with Tube and Overground as well as road access and, for those who need it, it’s just a fifteen minute bus ride from Brent Cross.

"Now it’s not really Colindale’s fault, but you take your pick between the development industry and the planning system to allocate blame. The fundamental problem is that each site has been designed in complete isolation from each other, so the basic of creating a decent town centre for this rapidly growing population has been completely missed."

'Barnet Press' and 'Barnet Times' - Met Police Sports Ground

"E.ON is working with FairView New Homes to save up to 44% in CO2"

Link to E.ON

"E.ON is working with Fairview New Homes to deliver low carbon energy to 1,067 homes, 300 bed hotel, commercial units and various leisure facilities, at Colindale, London, as part of a major redevelopment project.

"Under an Energy Services Company (ESCo) agreement, E.ON will design, build, operate and maintain a decentralised energy centre."

Daily Telegraph: "Census 2011: Renters soar as proportion of homeowners falls"

Link to Daily Telegraph

"The proportion of residents of England and Wales living in private rented accommodation increased from 9 per cent in 2001 to 15 per cent last year.

"At the same time the number of those who own their own home with a mortgage or other loan dropped from 39 per cent to 33 per cent.

"The shift reflects the growing trend for people in professional jobs to continue renting into their 30s and sometimes even 40s as they struggle to save enough money for a deposit to buy a house or flat."

Evening Standard: "Most families in London now rent rather than own homes"

Link to Evening Standard

"Fewer than half of London families own the roof over their heads for the first time in 30 years.

" 'Generation rent' is now in the majority after soaring prices, a mortgage famine and a disastrous housebuilding slump shattered the home-buying dreams of tens of thousands of Londoners.

"Latest government figures show that just 1.656- million, or 49.9 per cent, of the capital’s 3.318- million homes are occupied by the people who own them.

"The rest are rented out by private landlords, councils or housing associations."

Evening Standard: "Londoners need £57,000 to get on housing ladder"

Link to Evening Standard

"Struggling young buyers in London need a deposit of £57,175 to get a foothold on the property ladder, a report claimed today.

"The vast sum required to obtain a mortgage on a typical first-time property is more than twice the £27,537 average for the country as a whole, according to the Halifax’s Generation Rent report."

"Victorian restoration takes pride of place in Colindale development"

Link to 'Easier Property"

"Fairview New Homes will next week (3rd November) unveil a collection of only nine unique apartments [flats] painstakingly fashioned from a magnificently restored Victorian building at the heart of the company’s Pulse development in Colindale.

"The Pavilion was built in 1899 as a flagship administrative building for the new hospital in Colindale and its exuberant Baroque exterior ensured the building remained a local landmark throughout its history."

Barnet Times: "Barnet Borough Council considers pedestrian safety proposals for Colindale"

Link to web site

"Barnet Borough Council is considering £295,000 plans to implement pedestrian safety changes in Colindale.

"The council’s Hendon Area Environment Sub-Committee is considering plans to improve Aerodrome Road.

"The changes would be funded with money that developer St George is obliged to pay as a condition of the planning permission it was granted to develop Beaufort Park."

Andrew Dismore AM: "When will it stop? Yet even more development in Colindale"

Link to web site

"Mr Dismore said:

"The Conservative-controlled Barnet council has just given planning consent for yet more building at Zenith House site, 309 properties. The British Library is now marketing its site, which it will release in 2014, for another 345 homes – and the Peel Centre. Just when will this overdevelopment stop?

The Conservatives are opposing similar but far smaller developments in Enfield just over the border at Cat Hill, yet are perfectly prepared to build the Colindale community out of existence."

Barnet Times

(Click to enlarge)