The Brent Partnership brings together four partners, with the aim of delivering private and affordable housing, sharing teaching space, and improving hospital and university services and facilities.
Region: London
Theme: Health and social care (in OPE), Housing (in OPE), Integrated Public Services, Regeneration
The challenge
- To bring together four landowning public sector organisations with different aims and governance structures.
- To unite around common themes and make Northwick Park a landmark destination.
- To deliver capital receipts, reduce running costs and generate revenue streams for public sector partners.
- To improve service delivery, unlock land for development, create jobs, deliver new homes and reduce carbon emissions.
The story
The vision is for the four partners, the London Borough of Brent, London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust, The University of Westminster and Network Homes Ltd to work together to create an ambitious and ground-breaking strategy for the Northwick Park estate.
The project will bring together stakeholders, such as Transport for London, Network Rail, The London Borough of Harrow and The Greater London Authority. The four partners have signed a collaboration agreement, setting out the principles of joint working and governance along with the individual aims of the partners.
Over three funding rounds since 2017, One Public Estate (OPE) has awarded £530,500 to the Brent Partnership’s Northwick Park project to bring together these partners and help achieve this ambition.
The London Borough of Brent have also now been successful in a bid for £9.9 million Housing Infrastructure Funding (HIF) for the project, to support the delivery of a new spine road needed to bring forward the development. A land transfer has taken place between Network Homes and the Hospital Trust, realising a capital receipt for the NHS Trust.
Consultants have been commissioned using OPE funding to develop the masterplan and infrastructure proposals. Planning permission has now been granted for the overall masterplan, the first phase of housing (circa 650 homes with 40 per cent affordable) and the new spine road.
As part of the project, the hospital trust have built an energy centre which will reduce carbon emissions at Northwick Park Hospital by over 2,500 tonnes annually and deliver a minimum guaranteed saving of £25.5 million over the next 15 years. This solution is further enhanced via the introduction of an innovative combination of water and air sourced heat pumps and a battery energy storage system, which will help create a smart grid from which the local community will benefit, together with a range of Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) funded by the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).
Next steps
- The new spine road will start construction in November 2021.
- Network Homes have entered a joint venture with developer Vistry and will commence work on homes in 2022.
- The new hospital energy centre will go live in October 2022.
- The S106 for the masterplan will be signed locking in further improvements for the local area including the upgrading of council amenities for the playfields.
The outcomes (including cost savings/income generated if applicable)
Northwick Park is forecast to deliver the following outcomes over the next 10 Years:
- £35.7 million in capital receipts
- £551,000 in reduced running costs
- land released for circa 1,500 new homes
- 250 jobs created
It will also deliver better, more integrated public services and facilities including parking, joint use of teaching facilities, joint sports and social facilities and act as a catalyst for private sector investment in the area.
Contact
Links to relevant documents
The Northwick Park-OPE Programme