Brent Cross Town is preparing to welcome its first residents in 2024

Brent Cross Town is set to see 6,700 new homes, jobs for 25,000 people and leisure facilities including restaurants and a cinema.

The project is a joint partnership between the council and developer Related Argent, which was responsible for the redevelopment of King's Cross in London and Hudson Yards in New York.

Residents are being relocated from the nearby Whitefield Estate, and 120 homes are planned to be occupied by the summer of 2024.

The first residents of the wider redevelopment program which includes Brent Cross Town will start moving into homes from January, with 47 new homes set to be occupied by the end of next month.

The entire program is planned to be fully implemented within 15-20 years.

Cllr Ross Houston, cabinet member for homes and regeneration, gave a tour of the first phase of the project for the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Cllr Houston said: “This has been a very successful part of the first phase, it's a small number of residents moving from less than ideal accommodation to really nice, newly built accommodation.”

Brent Cross Town's vision is to create a new community that has “everything people need”.

Claremont Park, which runs through the development, opened last year. Planning permission has also been granted to improve the nearby Clitterhouse Playing Fields to make them more “user-friendly”.

Along with Brent Cross Town, the council oversaw the opening of Brent Cross West Station earlier this month, connecting passengers via Thameslink to central London in twelve minutes.

Explaining why the station is a key part of the project, Cllr Houston said: “Building the station meant that wider development was viable. This station plays a key role in connecting this part of London to the rest of London.”

Despite these recent successes, Brent Cross Town was in its infancy.

Before Labor took control in May 2022, Barnet Council was run by the Conservatives for 20 years. Asked what changes the Labor administration had planned for the project since taking control, Cllr Houston said the “percentage of affordable housing” was what he wanted to achieve – delivering more than the project “originally intended “.

The first phase will see the delivery of 20% of affordable housing, which will consist mainly of social rented homes, as well as some shared ownership and discounted market rent.

Cllr Houston said: “Affordability of housing has been our top priority in terms of shaping the place and planning, I think it's fair to say that and ensuring its sustainability are the two main priorities.

“One of the good things about this is that it's a joint partnership, we hope that as we continue to develop we can build more and more affordable housing; it will be a priority to deliver more affordable housing where we can.”

Describing residents' initial reaction to a project of such “scale and magnitude”, Cllr Houston admitted they had been “mixed”. He said, “You're always going to have people who don't like change and people who welcome change.”

The cabinet member added that the station and park were built first because they attract people and reduce congestion fears, making the area “better connected” and providing green space for north Londoners.

Speaking about how the project benefits the town, particularly by providing much-needed housing, Cllr Houston said: “Where there is a real shortage of housing and a need to plan for the future in terms of our economy, we need to be the place to be. to build

“If you can do it in a sustainable and attractive way, you're creating a place that people will want to live in 100 years from now. I have full faith in Related Argent and the board to deliver on this.”