Wates confirmed for £690m Harrow regeneration

Harrow’s council cabinet has voted to work with Wates Residential to develop three sites in the borough with the construction of 1,500 new homes in total.

The plan is to build housing on three large underused urban sites in and around the Wealdstone area over the next 10 years. Together they represent one of the largest brownfield developments in west London, Wates said.

Wates was identified as the council’s preferred bidder to form a development partnership in September 2020. The cabinet’s approval to form a partnership with Wates will now see the creation of a new legal entity called Harrow Strategic Development Partnership – the council and Wates will each own a 50% share.

Wates Residential managing director Helen Bunch said: “This £690m regeneration programme will deliver 1,500 quality affordable homes, a new civic centre, commercial space as well as green public spaces for the people of Harrow to enjoy.”

The three core sites on which the new Harrow Strategic Development Partnership will focus are: Poets Corner, currently the site of the Council’s Civic Centre; Peel Road, off Wealdstone High Street; and Byron Quarter, next to Byron Park and including the site of an old driving test centre. The plan is to build a smaller Civic Centre on the Peel Road site.

The first element to progress is set to be be Phase 1 of Byron Quarter, with initial plans for the old driving test centre site likely to come forward later this year, Wates said.

The council’s equity in the venture is made up in part by the value of the three development sites it owns plus a top up to match Wates’s investment, which will be found from borrowing. The long-term business case is projected to return £60m to each partner.

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