North West Lands

The proposals integrate the Core Objectives of the 2009 “Wembley Masterplan” SPD and have been developed through extensive consultation with the Local Authority. The SPD seeks to create in the North West Lands a district that provides a vibrant setting for the new Civic Centre, a bustling shopping street and high quality public space at the heart of the neighbourhood. It identifies core objectives for the district for a public square, shopping street, Olympic Way improvements, Empire Way relationship and a Civic Centre setting.

The masterplan proposes maximum and minimum amounts of various use types capped overall at 160,000 sqm of accommodation. The ways in which the combinations of space can be brought forward are controlled by the proposed Parameter Plans and Development Specification and the full range of potential environmental impacts have been assessed.

The masterplan proposes a new neighbourhood for living, working, shopping and relaxing in, as well as for visiting events at the Stadium and Wembley Arena. The masterplan will fundamentally transform the character and life of the area with a new high quality urban environment to complement the international profile of the Stadium and the Arena and to deliver an appropriate setting for the London Borough of Brent’s new Civic Centre.

The proposals will deliver a residential-led mixed-use quarter comprising:
- Up to 1,300 new homes of a range of sizes;
- A new shopping street with shops, cafes and restaurants;
- Affordable employment opportunities;
- New student accommodation;
- New hotel accommodation;
- Community and leisure provision; and
- A new square and other high quality public realm.

Macfarlane Wilder was responsible for the public realm, open space and landscape masterplanning for the western Northern Lands site area up to and including the Outline Application. During the work period up to the submission of the outline application, the practice undertook the following scope :
- Investigation, site analysis / baseline documents
- Establish principle to open space design
- Conceptual development
- Strategic development to open space, public realm and landscape
- Design development for open space, public realm and landscape
- Application preparation
- Design and Access Statement
- Environmental Assessment
- ‘Landscape Assessment’ chapter for Environmental Statement;
- Submission of Outline Application
- Landscape/Open Space Parameter Plan/s to accompany outline planning application
- Illustrative plans, including design of pocket parks, a central square, Olympic Way and site streetscape
- Landscape strategy and tree planting strategy

Wembley is a place that is familiar to everyone, but the actual experience of the place typically revolves around isolated events and memories of a single venue. It is also a place that is an example of suburban growth and the “Metro-land” ideal lifestyle, with generous open spaces and semi-detached homes, that is located alongside the second largest Stadium in Europe with a capacity of 90,000 fans and with a steel arch rising 134m high as the longest single span roof structure in the world. But this is a context that also, however, reflects the harder realities of a failed Exhibition legacy where the economic benefits of the Stadium are never captured by the local community. It is the central vision of the Local Authority, regional policy and QED to redefine this place – to recognise both the value and the opportunity of the destination of Wembley but also to create an urban district that encourages people to stay, live, work and relax at Wembley. The North West Lands application site is the continuation of this shared vision, creating a new neighbourhood for Wembley.