APPENDIX 12
Memorandum submitted by the Wembley Task
Force
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Wembley Task Force
1.1.1 The Wembley Task Force is a working
partnership, chaired by Sir Nigel Mobbs, comprising—the
London Borough of Brent, English Partnerships, the Wembley Park
SRB, the London Development Partnership, Wembley National Stadium
Ltd (WNSL) and Sport England. The Department for Culture Media
and Sport and the Government Office for London have "Observer
Status".
1.1.2 The Task Force was launched by the
DETR and the DCMS on 29 July 1999 (the same day as the launch
of the designs for the national stadium). It was formed to exploit
the window of opportunity that exists to use the development of
the national stadium as a catalyst for the comprehensive regeneration
of the wider Wembley area.
1.2 The Need for Regeneration
1.2.1 Wembley is located to the North West
of Central London at the heart of the London Borough of Brent.
Brent is the thirteenth most deprived Local Authority in Greater
London and is included in the top 20 most deprived Local Authority
Districts in England.[7]
Wembley Stadium is located in the ward of Tokyngton, which together
with the neighbouring Preston ward has long term unemployment
10 per cent above the UK average.1 Tokyngton ward adjoins the
St Raphaels ward, which is the seventh most deprived ward in London.1
1.2.2 Within the broader community context,
Wembley represents a major employment and development opportunity.
The Wembley industrial estate is one of the largest in the area
and employs some 4,000 people, particularly in semi-skilled occupations
of greatest value to local communities. The land around the stadium
represents a major concentration of under-used land in West London,
where development land is at a premium. The consolidation of the
industrial base and the recycling of the land resource to generate
new economic activity and create local jobs, lend regeneration
of the area strategic significance.
1.2.3 In recognition of this, SRB funding
of £15.25 million has been allocated to commence an area
regeneration programme. Subject to final ratification from the
EC, Wembley will be granted both Assisted Area Status and eligibility
for ERDF Objective 2 Funding as a result of recent programme reviews.
1.2.4 Wembley comprises three main regeneration
sub-areas.
— The stadium and Olympic Way area—which
includes the connection to Wembley Park Stadium, Wembley Conference
Centre and Wembley Arena. This is the principal focus of the Task
Force and is the area most urgently in need of regeneration to
provide a context for and access to the national stadium and to
ensure that the stadium redevelopment benefits the surrounding
area.
— The central industrial area—where
it is important to use the stadium redevelopment as a catalyst
to retain and enhance existing jobs and to create new employment
and training opportunities.
— The Eastern area—which includes
the main access road to the stadium and the important North Circular
Road junction.While this area is predominantly modern retail warehousing
and the least urgent for regeneration, there are important opportunities
for road and access improvements, which the Task Force is keen
to see investigated and exploited.
Wembley Town Centre, located near to the stadium
area, is also significant. It links the stadium to Wembley Central
Station and is an important centre in its own right. It is important
that the regeneration of Wembley preserves and enhances this role.
1.3 Strategic Aims and Objectives
1.3.1 Wembley is a complex area comprising
a range of different land uses, land ownerships and development
interests. Part of the complexity lies in the perceived potential
for high returns and competition between different interests to
maximise their own returns. A comprehensive planning and regeneration
framework is necessary to draw together these potentially competing
interests into a coherent strategy, which maximises the returns
to the area and to London as a whole.
1.3.2 The role of the Task Force is to address
this difficulty and to secure the necessary co-ordinated programme
that will achieve the regeneration of Wembley as a whole. The
successful delivery of the stadium to meet its agreed development
timetable is a key objective. Other key objectives are to secure
a suitable context for the stadium; to bring forward the development
of the land around the stadium for new, high quality development
(that will consolidate the area's role as a focus for sport and
leisure); to define the transport infrastructure programme necessary
to service the regenerated area in the future and to secure the
renewal of the Wembley industrial estate as a high quality business
location.
1.3.3 Its key tasks are the preparation
of an agreed development framework for the area and to assist
where necessary in implementing the framework, particularly through
facilitating land assembly, co-ordination of local property interests
and infrastructure planning.
2. THE ROLE
OF THE
NATIONAL STADIUM
2.1 The new national stadium has an important
role as the catalyst for the regeneration of Wembley. From its
inception, the Task Force identified an urgent need for the Government's
"sporting aspirations" for Wembley to be clearly identified
to facilitate the redevelopment of the stadium and the related
regeneration of the wider area. This clarification has now been
provided by the Secretary of State's recent statement that "Wembley
should be the focus of a world-class stadium for football and
rugby league and that alternative arrangements should be made
for athletics".
2.2 The planning application for the new
English National Stadium has been submitted. A key consideration
in the determination of the planning application will be the resolution
of the differing views on transport infrastructure needs.
3. THE KEY
CHALLENGES FACED
BY THE
TASK FORCE
3.1 The Preparation of an Effective Development
Framework
3.1.1 The London Borough of Brent is in
the process of revising its Unitary Development Plan Inset for
the Wembley area in consultation with the Task Force. The draft
has been amended to set a policy framework for the "comprehensive
regeneration" of the Wembley area and to encourage a co-ordinated
approach.
3.1.2 A "development framework"
is being worked on by the London Borough of Brent and the Task
Force Team in support of the revised UDP policy framework for
the comprehensive regeneration of the area. This may be adopted
as supplementary planning guidance and would provide the context
for any future development for the area around the stadium.
3.2 The Facilitation of a Co-ordinated Approach
by Key Landowners
3.2.1 The Task Force has already met with
the key landowners in the stadium locality to establish their
aspirations for their Wembley holdings. These discussions have
focused on how the redevelopment of the national stadium has opened
a unique window of opportunity to achieve the "world-class"
regeneration of the wider Wembley area. Facilitation of a co-ordinated
and comprehensive approach by the key landowners (including WNSL)
is one of the principal challenges faced by the Task Force.
3.3 Co-ordination of Transport Infrastructure
Improvements
3.3.1 Wembley is well served strategically
by both road and transport networks; it is close to the North
Circular Road and its junction with the M1 and is served by three
tube and rail stations. However, this position is not ideal. The
local road and rail infrastructure is however urgently in need
of improvement to match the aspirations and importance of the
new stadium and to enhance the development capacity of the area.
3.3.2 The Task Force have commissioned a
series of projects to determine the necessary investment to meet
the needs of the regeneration strategy. These include a review
of the transport requirements in the context of the existing infrastructure,
an appraisal of the costs necessary to deliver high quality rail
access from the three local stations and an appraisal of the road
access requirements that can serve both the needs of the stadium
and the development area and those of existing businesses in the
area. It is anticipated that the costs of the infrastructure programme
will in part be born collectively by the developments, which will
be benefiting from the works.
4. CONCLUSIONS
4.1 The Government and public agencies have
a vital role to play in the Wembley National Stadium project if
this is to provide a catalyst and focus for the comprehensive
regeneration of the wider Wembley area. The Wembley Task Force
is a working group, which includes government and public agencies
amongst its members. The "vision" is to regenerate Wembley
as a "world-class" sport and leisure orientated destination.
The Task Force has strong links to the private sector, principally
through its independent Chair, Sir Nigel Mobbs; Wembley National
Stadium Ltd and the Wembley Park SRB. These links are essential
if the Task Force is to succeed in facilitating a co-ordinated
approach to comprehensive regeneration by the key landowners and
setting up a deliverable commitment to the resolution of the infrastructure
issue.
January 2000
7 Source: 1998 Index of Local Deprivation. Back
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