Silk Stream project expansion plans approved by Barnet Council

There will now be 227 additional homes built at the West Hendon development reports Joe Ives, Local Democracy Reporter

Artist's impression of a series of tower blocks surrounding a green space. — Redesigned green space dubbed ‘Silk Gardens’. (Credit – Makower Architects)

A major West Hendon redevelopment project is set to expand onwards and upwards after Barnet Council approved “essential” plans to add more than 200 homes.

Proposals to build an additional 227 homes at the ‘Silk Stream’ project, located at Unit 4, Hyde Estate Road, were given unanimous approval by the local authority’s planning committee at a meeting last week (Wednesday 15th).

It means the site will, on aggregate, take up an additional 18 storeys of the skyline and deliver a total of 1,564 homes.

This includes an additional 74 ‘affordable’ units, maintaining a rate of affordable housing provision at the site of 34.5% “by habitable room”.

The scheme was originally granted planning permission back in July 2020 in a joint application between St George North London Ltd and Sainsbury’s.

In September 2024 changes were approved to add 28 additional homes and extra staircases so the West Hendon development would comply with new fire safety standards.

Speaking ahead of last week’s vote, Claire Hammond from developer St George Limited argued that the project “cannot be delivered in its current form, placing the delivery of affordable and private homes at risk”.

She added: “Our priority is simple: to keep the cranes moving at Silk Stream – and this application is essential to achieving that.”

By “that” she meant ‘viability’ – and by viability she meant ensuring the site will make enough money for the developer, now owned by the publicly listed Berkeley Group.

According to a press release published last month, the company made a £451m pre-tax profit in the 2025/26 financial year and was enjoying a “robust financial position with net cash increasing to £363 million”.

Hammond told councillors that major challenges had emerged since the scheme was first approved six years ago, making the updated plans essential for deliverability.

These include “sharp construction cost inflation, changes to building regulations, political uncertainty and reduced investor appetite, driven by taxation and regulatory shifts”.

The majority of the newly-approved changes relate to two tower blocks set to be delivered in ‘Phase 2’ of the scheme, where an additional 220 homes will now be delivered. There, the site’s two tallest buildings, referred to in planning documents as ‘B10’ & ‘B11”, will rise to 29 storeys.

The application also includes changes to the facades of the two tallest blocks and improvements to the site’s green spaces. There will also be a reduction in the ratio of basement-level parking, resulting in roughly one space for every four flats, due to the higher proportion of homes.

Previously, ‘Phase 1’ of the project included the delivery of housing in a block referred to as‘ BO9’. This single building was set to have connected sections, rising to 16 storeys in one section and to 11 storeys in the other. Following last week’s decision, this will now be split into two buildings, ‘BO9a’ and ‘BO9b’, rising to 25 and 12 storeys respectively.

The updated scheme will, according to council officers, increase the number of “low-cost” rentable homes from 114 to 286, resulting in “a substantial uplift in genuinely affordable social rent accommodation”.

In a report prepared ahead of last week’s meeting, officers concluded that “the amended height and massing strategy has evolved through a robust design-led process” and “would not result in unacceptable townscape, heritage, environmental or amenity impacts”.

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