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The shape of things
Page 26
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to come? by Alan Millar LIKE the coal and steel industries, British Rail has retreated from many areas in which it had heavy commitments, leaving behind it large areas of derelict land.
The British Rail Property Board has the onerous task of attempting to find new and lucrative uses for uprooted marshalling yards, mineral de pots and the like, and has now announced plans for a massive development at Neasden in North London on the site of redundant sidings.
As reported in CM last week, the 43-acre development is b"eing managed by a consor tium of the design and construction group Kyle Stewart, Legal and General Assurance (Pensions Management) Ltd, the English Property Corporation, and supermarket chain Tesco.
All five parties, plus the Greater London Council, met last week to announce details of the plan. The next stage comes next week when local residents, many of them hostile to the proposals, will hear details of the scheme.
The site will be developed as an industrial and superstore complex incorporating an integrated freight complex and is seen as a potential employer of 1,000 Londoners. There will also be a new Wembley by-pass road.
On the main site, there will he: • Warehousing and planned ancillary offices; • Light industrial premises and workshop; • Lorry drivers' facilities, including hostel, shop, bank, and cafeteria; • Security compound for 4050 lorries with fuel and garage facilities, and possibly a forklift depot; • Pallet store; • Possible future ICD with rail link; • Private rail sidings.
On additional sites in the complex there will be: • Offices, showrooms, and warehousing totalling 92,000 sq ft which would probably be let to one tenant; • Warehouse and light industrial building of 20,975 sq ft; • Total parking for up to 114 lorries and 525 cars.
There are additional plans for a 3.75-acre terminal for ready mixed concrete trains, handling some 150,090 tonnes annually, and for an eight-acre freight site in the future.
The use for that site has still to be decided, but the developers pin their hopes on its becoming a Freightliner terminal.
Freight companies are to be interviewed soon to decide which concern will manage the freight complex, but it is likely that a single operator with road and rail experience will run the ancillary freight depot. The developers were at pains to point out, though, that no operator has been decided upon yet.
What do the developers hope to gain from Neasden?
In the case of Legal and General, the answer is easy. A return on investments to boost pension S funds. Likewise, Kyle Stewart would be involved with construction and design, EPC, with considerable expertise in this field, will coordinate the development, and Tesco will develop the superstore.
British Rail's immediate gain should be in revenue from the development of the site, but it looks, through the expansion of an integrated terminal, to additional traffic for the railways.
BRPB realises that any traffic gained from road haulage will come only if the customer wants it, but BR's Robert 15ashwood said last week: "The whole principle of a freight complex is to get traffic on to rail and to get heavy lorries off the road.'
From the Greater London Council's point of view, the Neasden scheme forms part of its freight policy. It is a development which, according to its assistant chief planner (freight), Martin Foulkes, "offers companies a fair degree of flexibility to use road and rail transport".
Neasden, he added, is "going to take London back into the lead in a freight role".
It is a top-grade freight centre in a three-tier structure being pursued by the GLC. Beneath it will come four to five-acre freight centres with warehousing, vehicle ser vicing and hostel accommo. dation, details of which arE expected soon, and the smal' haulier sites such as that it operation at Purley Way, ir Croydon.
Martin Foulkes told CM las. week that other sites similar t( Neasden will be announce( within a year.
Neasden is a good site fo easy transport access, and wil have access roads constructe( to the North Circular Road There is talk also about ai extended link road fron Wembley Stadium Tradinl Estate.
The Tesco shopping are will require special considera tion, especially by Londo; Transport, which will need ti improve local bus services The developers imagine tha public transport access wi follow the example set a Brent Cross where LT an Green Line services wer diverted to feed traffic to th centre.
There is talk also of Tesc providing courtesy bus sei vices, free of charge, for it customers.
Although the Wembley Neasden area is in decline an would be boosted greatly b the proposed developmer which is scheduled for 19E completion, there is conside able local opposition.
Much of this stems froi fears of an increase in heaN lorry traffic in residenti; areas, and especially fro; fears of the effects of the e: tended link road. Like son pressure groups, the "ant lobby is a vociferous minorit but the developers will have 1 work hard if they are to co: vince Neasden of the project worth.