A new business plan for Brent Cross Town leans on rented homes, co-living and a data centre. The partners say they cannot take any returns from the scheme for now.
Brent Cross Town will build more homes to rent and fewer to sell, because the market for sales has stalled. That is the core of a new business plan for the scheme, set out in a council report going to Cabinet on Tuesday 17 November.
The report says the scheme faces “a sustained economic downturn”. Rising infrastructure costs and weak demand for homes and offices mean the two partners, Barnet Council and the developer Related Argent, “are not currently able to take returns from the plot development”. (Barnet Council, Brent Cross Update Report, Annex 1)
The Finance and Growth scrutiny committee will question the report first, on Thursday 12 November. (Barnet Council, scrutiny cover report)
What the new plan changes
The report says “not all of the target residential types and tenures can be delivered viably in today’s conditions”. The partnership plans:
- a “greater shift towards rental products”, because the market for sales has stalled
- more student housing, later living and co-living, which it says “are performing better in the market”
- continued building of affordable homes alongside market homes
- keeping space for offices and chasing large anchor employers, while widening the kinds of jobs on site
The business plan itself, and the scheme’s financial strategy, are in an exempt appendix that the public cannot see. Cabinet is asked to let the chief executive approve the final plan, after consulting the council leader and the leader of the opposition.
A data centre and the Dixons land
The report lists the next three phases the partnership expects to bring forward:
| Phase | What it is | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth | Plots south of Brent Cross West station | Early 2027 |
| Fifth | A data centre | Cabinet approval in February or March |
| Sixth | The Dixons land | Cabinet approval in April |
Plot 42, a co-living block in the fourth phase, aims to complete contracts by December. The report also mentions “clustering of businesses” around the planned data centre. It does not say where on the site the data centre would go or how big it would be.
What is being built now
- Plot 15 should hand over its affordable homes in spring 2027 and the rest of the building in early summer 2027.
- Plot 201, on the cleared Whitefield Estate, is next. It is going through the national Building Safety Regulator’s approval process. The report says delays in that process are hurting “investor confidence”.
- The main energy centre is due to start on site in January 2027.
- Claremont School is due to be rebuilt from late spring or summer 2027.
- Claremont Green, an extension of Claremont Park, should start in early summer 2027.
- Clitterhouse Playing Fields: new landscaping at the northern end is largely complete, and work on a farm playground is under way. Works on Purbeck Drive start this month.
Jobs for local people
Only 6% of the construction workforce lives in Barnet, the report says. The figure is 11% for Barnet, Brent and Camden together.
The scheme’s new jobs service, Brent Cross Town Connect, opened on 15 September. Its results for 2026 to the end of September are below.
The report also records 7 work trials and 24 work experience places. A skills centre on the site is aimed for early 2027.
The council’s own spending
The council is paying for some of the infrastructure directly. The report says each project is forecast to stay on budget:
| Project | Approved budget | Spent to 30 September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Brent Cross West station and the Geron Way waste site | £411.780m | £371.033m |
| Critical infrastructure | £56.706m | £55.601m |
| Land acquisitions | £66.002m | £65.034m |
| Brent Cross Town land acquisitions | £30.321m | £29.724m |
The new waste transfer station at 2 Geron Way now has its gable walls up and roof trusses going in. After the fire at the North London Waste Authority’s temporary site in Wembley on 28 August, the council says it is finalising other arrangements for processing waste until Geron Way is finished.
New places to eat and shop
The report lists the businesses now open or coming to the ground floors around Neighbourhood Square and Brent Cross West station. Always Gladice, a bar and restaurant, opened in September. HolyBella, a stationery shop and post office called Stamp, Social Pottery and El Studio pilates are due to join it. Slomo sauna and Gail’s are planned near the station.
What it means for you
- If you live near the site and objected to a controlled parking zone: the council says it will tell residents, businesses and schools the results of its six-month consultation this month.
- If you are looking for work: vacancies are on the Brent Cross Town Connect website.
- If you want to have a say: the scrutiny meeting is public, at 7pm on 12 November. Agenda and papers. The West London Orbital rail consultation, which the report links to the scheme’s future, closes on 18 November.
Have your say