From the platform of the recently opened Brent Cross West station, London’s first new mainline station in a decade, Brent Cross Town looks like a porcupine formed of cranes and half-finished buildings.
In 15 years’ time, according to plans, the same platform will overlook a gleaming new neighbourhood comprising homes for 45,000 people; new streets, cafés and shops; three rebuilt schools and several new office buildings as well as 50 acres of parkland and playing fields.
Tom Goodall, chief executive of developer Related Argent, describes the £8bn Brent Cross Town project as “one of the biggest urban regeneration opportunities that London has this decade”.
Sitting at the base of the M1 motorway and just across London’s north circular ring road from Brent Cross — the UK’s first out of town shopping centre — the 180-acre site lies between a London underground stop to the east and the £419mn new train station to the west.
The new “park town” is the next big bet by Related Argent, best known in the UK for its multi-decade transformation of the railway lands north of London’s King’s Cross station into a buzzing district of restaurants, upscale shops, flats and public space strung along the canal.
The project, a joint venture with Barnet Council, is a rare example of a mammoth redevelopment on a formerly used urban “brownfield” site, the likes of which politicians of all stripes and planning experts are trying to encourage to fix Britain’s housing shortage.
The scheme has been facilitated in part by hundreds of millions of pounds in public funds from Homes England and the Department for Levelling Up, going towards the railway station, land and infrastructure.
Such schemes — long hampered by a lack of viable urban sites — have become even harder to get off the ground in recent years due to planning and funding constraints, and increasingly fraught political disputes about whether so-called regeneration projects amount to “gentrification” and bring little benefit to locals.
Since King’s Cross, several major development projects in London have been derailed by local opposition. As it did at King’s Cross, Related Argent has tried to prove its good intention by making the first building on the estate a social housing block, replacing some ageing towers and sprucing up the public park.
After decades of planning and false starts, construction started in 2020, five years after Argent won the mandate. About 130 social housing units will be ready to occupy this year. Around 300 flats, which are already 60 per cent sold, are also due to be ready in 2024 — and roughly 550 rental flats will be available in 2025. Alongside these will be 600 student units, sold to student housing group Fusion.
The project has enlisted a range of financial backers including Invesco, which has invested in around 800 homes for sale and rent, as well as loans from LaSalle and NatWest. This week, the real estate investment arm of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) — one of Japan’s largest companies — committed to invest £120mn in rental blocks.
The buildings add up to 1,500 beds, which Related Argent hopes will be enough to seed a new community. “How do you create a credible town? You bring as many different demographics as you can,” said Goodall. The group also built housing for students early at King’s Cross, because they “import vibrancy overnight,” he added.
More daunting is the 3mn sq ft of what will become new offices, at a time when demand — particularly in far out locations — has been damped by the rise of flexible working. The first building, due in 2026, is half pre-let to Sheffield Hallam University.
“We’re not afraid of creating a new office destination,” said Goodall. “It’s 10 minutes down the track [from King’s Cross] and half the price.”
The Brent Cross site is three times the size of King’s Cross and though just 12 minutes from St Pancras by train it is miles from central London, meaning it could face a challenge in establishing a community due to its more remote location.
“Twenty years ago, the same question was being asked about King’s Cross. People said King’s Cross can’t work. It’s not central enough. It’s not the City or the West End,” said Goodall.
Roger Madelin, former CEO of Argent, who has since joined British Land to co-lead its Canada Water development, said he was initially attracted to Brent Cross by the scale of the site, the support of the council and the new railway links. The project moved forward after the land south of the ring road was separated from plans for the Brent Cross shopping centre.
“The success of development and [its] attractiveness . . . has always been related to transport. I think the Romans knew that,” said Madelin. “[Brent Cross Town has] good access, but it doesn’t have that 360 degree access. The mix of uses will be more residential biased than a central urban location like King’s Cross or Canada Water,” he said.
Related Argent is still the developer and manager of King’s Cross, which has nearly completed its last building after more than 15 years of construction. The privately owned UK developer was formed through a combination of the UK’s Argent with US-based Related, known for developing Hudson Yards, a $25bn project converting acres of industrial hinterland in Manhattan into a sprawling complex of fancy homes, offices and high-end shops.
Goodall, a former architect, joined Argent in 2012 and ultimately headed residential at King’s Cross. He became CEO of the combined group in May.
Brent Cross is designed to be even greener than past projects. At King’s Cross, pipes carry water at 95 degrees and 6 degrees around the estate for heating and cooling. Brent Cross Town will have a similar but more advanced, electric heating system — being developed with Vattenfall, the Swedish state-backed power company.
Ultimately, though, Goodall believes the key to the new town is not just the buildings and infrastructure. At King’s Cross, Related Argent ran 190 events last year as part of its efforts to keep drawing people to the district. The key attraction at Brent Cross Town will be a huge park, nearly the size of the entire King’s Cross development, with extensive sports and play facilities.
“No one goes to the theatre to stare at the stage and say: ‘what a beautiful theatre’,” said Goodall. “We have to put on a damn good show.”
