Tuesday 21 January 2014

Cricklewood regeneration - The new city on our doorstep approved by Barnet Council

The papers detailing the approval of the Cricklewood "regeneration" scheme are on the Council website. You can view them here.

http://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s12505/Brent%20Cross%20Cricklewood%20Regeneration%20-%20Public%20Report.pdf

Interesting highlights -

A new Brent Cross Thameslink station. oddly this is not actually guaranteed as part of the scheme. It seems that the Barnet Taxpayer, rather than the developers are bearing the financial risk. The report says "A bid for capital funding is being considered by Cabinet on 25 February 2014 to fund this work. Should the station go ahead, this funding will form part of the overall project cost and will be recouped by the Council as a development cost. However, this funding will not be recouped should the station not go ahead as proposed.
Consequently, the budget and programme will be managed throughout 2014 to ensure that only the necessary work is undertaken in advance of securing a funding strategy. " Seems to me that yet again, the taxpayers is being taken for a ride.

Council to subsidise developers by  bearing risk for funding land. The report says "It is currently envisaged that the Council will need to bear the CPO costs for land required for the Brent Cross Cricklewood South proposals. It is also envisaged that these acquisition costs will be recoverable from the Brent Cross Cricklewood South development in due course."

Why is it that in Barnet, it is always the taxpayer that takes the hit?



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Because, Roger, the developer is sweetening its way into planning permission - to just expand the Shopping Centre - by only providing subsidy for new ROADS (and a bus station).

By that time, it will have built its Shopping Centre (jamming up our OTHER roads - job done) and then cleared off.

The station can go hang.

Barnet has to find someone else to develop the rest of Brent Cross.

Is Capita into that sort of thing? That would make decision-making in the borough REALLY streamlined, wouldn't it?

Anonymous said...

Network Rail documents say that Cricklewood station would likely close, if and when a Brent Cross one opens on the same line.

They are too close together, and the line is very crowded.

Anonymous said...

I was wondering if you had seen this piece
http://www.times-series.co.uk/news/10913174.Barnet_s_biggest_worries__Lack_of_affordable_housing_and_borough_s_roads_top_list/
and whether you'd comment on the fact that council satisfaction seems to be going up regardless of the general council cockups?

Rog T said...

Thats easy to answer. They kicked Coleman outand reversed some of his disasterous parking policies