Emerging Context
The site sits between Geron Way and the Thameslink mainline railway – immediately adjacent to the new Brent Cross West Station.
The site area is circa 3,362 sqm (0.3362 of a hectare). The north circular is just to the north with vehicular links into Geron Way that fronts the site coming off the North Circular/ A5 spur road.
Redevelopment of the site presents the opportunity to deliver an efficient and highly sustainable development, close to public transport links that will positively contribute to housing delivery and regeneration in the wider area.
IMAGE ILLUSTRATING HOW OUR SITE SITS WITHIN THE HEART OF THE MAJOR REGENERATION AREA
The site is currently part of the Brent Cross West (Staples Corner) Growth Area and identified in Barnet Council’s Local Plan for high density redevelopment to deliver 1,800 new homes and employment space (policy GSS03).
Emerging Brent Cross West Masterplan
Our design proposals consider the emerging Brent Cross West Masterplan. The Masterplan guides future development in the area and has a number of key principles, including:
- A single, and high-quality building next to the station
- A building incorporating full ground floor publicly accessible commercial uses
- Improved public realm, in particular on Geron Way
- Active frontage along Geron Way
- High quality materials and design
IMAGE SHOWING CURRENT AND EMERGING TOWNSCAPE
The Need for Student Accomodation
There is a growing demand for quality Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) across the UK, and the rise in student numbers has been unevenly distributed across the country resulting in accommodation shortages in some cities and empty beds in others.
The London Need
- As of the 2021/22 HESA data there was 344,071 full time students in London, which is a 20% increase since 2017/8.
- As of our latest estimates, there are 102,018 PBSA beds in London, across 393 schemes. With the current supply, only 30% of full-time students in London are able to access PBSA.
- Within a 1.5-mile radius of the site lies Middlesex University, with 15,154 enrolled full-time students as of the 2021/22 HESA data. In 2026, a new university campus is due to open: Sheffield Hallam University’s first satellite campus. This campus will be only a few hundred meters from the site and is projected to have up to 5,000 students by 2030.
- Also nearby is the University of Westminster’s Harrow Campus, with 2,918 enrolled full-time students. Its other campuses, as well as those of other major London HEIs, are easily accessible via existing public transport, soon to be complemented by the new Brent Cross West station, adjacent to the Geron Way site.
Full-time students who are not living in PBSA are forced to be reliant on the wider private rented sector and HMO market or are driven to neighbouring areas in search of appropriate accommodation.
The proposed development would ease the pressures on local housing across the area and enable greater access for students to good quality, proximate purpose-built accommodation to support their studies in a way that facilitates sustainable land use planning, as well as fostering the wider regeneration of the area.
