Local residents raise concerns over major development plans for Edgware town centre, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Plans by Ballymore for the Broadwalk Centre redevelopment — Plans by Ballymore for The Broadwalk Centre redevelopment

A “monstrous” development planned for Edgware town centre would block out sunlight and “ruin the atmosphere of the area”, local residents have warned.

Developer Ballymore and joint venture partner Transport for London want to demolish The Broadwalk Centre, an indoor shopping mall, and in its place build 3,365 homes and 463 student flats in a series of tower blocks up to 29 storeys high.

The plans have been changed following an initial consultation, with the number of proposed homes reduced and parking spaces added. The developer says the revised scheme – which could house up to 7,000 new residents – will create a “thriving new town centre” that will be “a more pleasant place for everybody”.

But during a meeting at One Stonegrove Community Centre in Edgware on Tuesday (25th), residents raised multiple concerns over the impact of the development on the local area and called for the plans to be scaled back further.

One local resident, Jonathan, said: “To me, it looks monstrous. We are going to be blocking sunlight out with these huge blocks.

“Where I live, we have flooding problems because of blocks of flats that have gone in, and there has been no account for the excess sewerage, flooding, so everything backs up and comes up. That was never done by Thames Water, so we hope that will not happen in this instance.”

Another resident said: “It is essentially wrong for the area […] The atmosphere of Edgware is a village – it is a ‘together’ kind of place. It is not huge, it’s small, and [if] you put this in you are going to ruin the atmosphere of the area.”

The revised scheme would provide 769 parking spaces, including 344 public bays and 425 residential spaces. The current car park includes more than 900 short-stay spaces for shoppers and 250 long-stay spaces.

Several residents raised concerns that there would not be enough parking spaces for people living in the flats, and this would cause parking problems and congestion in existing streets. Another warned: “We are going to lose all our shops. What are we supposed to do?”

The impact on schools and health services was a further concern. One resident said: “I don’t know anything about the development, but from a common-sense point of view we have a huge development coming in – what is going to happen with hospitals and doctors, that sort of thing?”

Another raised concerns over the decision to move the bus garage on the site underground, warning it could pose a fire safety risk.

Edgware ward councillors Lucy Wakeley, Shuey Gordon and Nick Mearing-Smith say they are opposed to the current scheme and want it scaled back. All three were at the meeting and tried to respond to residents’ concerns.

They pointed out that the developer now plans to provide 20,000 square feet of health and wellbeing space, and that many local schools are below capacity. When residents questioned whether the developer would deliver on its commitments, they said the council had an enforcement team that can hold it to account.

Edgware residents attending Tuesday's meeting to discuss the plans — Edgware residents attending Tuesday’s meeting to discuss the plans

The Broadwalk Centre was identified as a potential development site in Barnet’s most recent Local Plan, which was drawn up by the town hall’s previous Conservative administration. A planning framework for Edgware also drawn up under the Conservatives said the area could “deliver thousands of new homes”.

One resident quizzed the councillors, who are all members of the Conservative group, on whether they supported the planning documents. Cllr Mearing-Smith said he stood by the Local Plan, adding that it “does not specify how big any development is”.

Some questioned the suitability of Ballymore as the site’s developer. David, who said he had lived in Edgware for 54 years, claimed the company was “only interested in profit”.

Michael, who said he was involved with the National Leasehold Campaign, said: “After Grenfell, the worst developer around the country who we had to threaten, and parliament had to threaten, that you won’t build any more developments until you get the cladding sorted out, and the fire safety issues, was Ballymore.”

In response to post-Grenfell cladding and other fire safety issues, last year Ballymore’s managing director wrote to the government to confirm that the company was signing a “developer pledge letter” which “sets out the principles under which life-critical fire-safety issues on buildings that we have developed of eleven metres and above will be remediated”.

The Edgware councillors also said that several petitions against the development had been signed by between 7,000 and 8,000 people, and they expect the proposals to be presented to a meeting of Barnet Council’s strategic planning committee in September. Before then, they will be subject to a 21-day public consultation during which residents can comment on the scheme.

The developers have been approached for comment.

Update (27th July):

A spokesperson for the developer said the scheme would provide up to 1,150 affordable homes and create around new 1,400 full-time jobs.

They added: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle Edgware’s challenges and make it a place for everybody. By sensitively redeveloping The Broadwalk Centre and the bus garage, we can make the town centre a more welcoming and safer place to live, shop, work and visit for many years to come.”

The spokesperson said the developer was consulting on parking provision to ensure “continued access to the town centre for those that require a car, including elderly and blue badge holders”.

They added that the proposed scheme “does not seek to reduce the existing retail provision at the site” and includes “460,000sqft of new commercial space to be focussed around the new station square and town square”.

Responding to concerns over the underground bus garage, they said no passenger-facing facilities would be provided underground and fire safety was being “carefully considered to ensure this benefit is delivered safely”.

The spokesperson continued: “Cladding remediation is an industry-wide issue affecting developers across the UK. Ballymore acted quickly to commence all necessary remediation and have completed 86% of the works across our portfolio of developments with a further 6% due to be completed within three months. In March this year, we signed the developer’s pledge alongside 49 other developers.

“We will be continuing to engage and consult until the application is submitted and beyond, and would encourage anyone who wants to have their say to come along to our events and speak to us or visit our website edgwaretowncentre.uk to learn more.”

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