Community Hub

Ujima House

Welcome to our Community Hub to display an overview of our proposals for Ujima House, 388 High Road, Wembley.

We look forward to receiving your feedback and sharing further details throughout the process.

Overview

Learn more about our exciting plans

About Us

Learn more about the project team

Timeline

The anticipated project milestones
HAVE YOUR SAY

Community Hub

Ujima House

Overview

About Us

Timeline

Feedback

Overview
About Us
Timeline
Have your Say
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Overview

Welcome

Welcome to our Community Hub to display an overview of our proposals for Ujima House, 388 High Road, Wembley.

We look forward to receiving your feedback and sharing further details throughout the process.

The Site

The site is located to the northern side of Wembley High Road.

It consists of 1 plot of land and has an area that is 1,363.8 sqm. It is located immediately adjacent to Lanmor House and Fairgate House.

The existing site comprises a five-storey office building known as Ujima House together with a partly landscaped frontage, and an area of hardstanding to the rear which provides parking spaces for the use of occupants of the building. Currently, the building is vacant.

The site is not in a Conservation Area and does not contain a listed building. It is located within Wembley Town Centre and within Wembley Housing Zone as designated by the Mayor of London.

The surrounding area contains a mix of commercial and retail uses with residential uses above ground floor. To the north of the site is a railway embankment and the Chiltern Line railway tracks.

Ujima House on the Wembley High Road

Wembley High Road towards Ujima House

The Outline Planning Permission

Outline planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the site for housing, including 35% affordable housing, with ground floor office and retail use in February 2021. As the permission was in outline, full details of the proposed development will come forward in a Reserved Matters Application which will be submitted in Autumn 2023. However, the outline permission does set various parameters which the proposed development will need to comply with. These are set out below.

Wembley High Road North Elevation

Wembley High Road South Elevation

Approved parameters and requirements of the consented scheme included:

  • At least 15% of the residential homes to be 3-bed or larger.
  • No more than eight units shall be provided per core per floor.
  • In accordance with the London Plan, a minimum ceiling height of 2.5m for at least 75% of the gross internal area is required.
  • No more than 18 homes (these to be 1-bed) shall have sole aspect.
  • All units shall comply with the technical housing standards: nationally described space standard 2015.
  • All habitable rooms shall have adequate outlook, ventilation, privacy and daylight.
  • All homes shall have access to private external amenity space to comply with the standards set out in the Mayor’s Housing SPG 2015.
  • 10% of residential units will be provided as wheelchair user dwellings, and the remainder as accessible and adaptable dwellings.

Current Proposals

Design Development The Outline Planning Permission was submitted with an indicative scheme in 2019.

Today’s proposals are more detailed, and updated to meet current standards as follows:

Additional stairs and lifts (cores) in response to changing fire safety guidance

100% affordable housing, increasing from the outline 35% affordable scheme

Updated Landscape Design

Relocation of car parking
and cycle stores

Revised servicing from the
High Road

Amended rooftop
residents’ amenity and
playspace provision

Rationalisation of
workspace areas

Facade amendments to
accommodate second stair
core design

Design Principles:

  • The proposed building will be mixed-use, providing a workspace with café and lobby areas on the ground and basement levels and residential units above.
  • The main access and servicing point will be from the High Road.
  • There will be a residential lobby located on the ground floor, to be accessed via a separate entrance to the workspace. This entrance and associated residential servicing will be from the High Road.
  • Levels 1 and above provide residential units accessed from the residential lobby at ground floor. There will also be a secondary escape stair at the opposite end of the corridor.
  • A shared external roof terrace is located on level 10 with access for residents only.

Indicative Scheme Section Showing Uses

Shared Roof Amenity

Residential

Workspace / Café

Context & Materiality

CHARACTER

There is a rich variety of materials, colours and textures found in the local area. Set between the Fairgate House proposal and Lanmor House, Ujima House sits opposite the consented Cecil Avenue proposal. These 3 buildings all differ in their materiality and Ujima House is in the middle of all 3 buildings.

UJIMA HOUSE

Ujima House uses a light & warm buff brick to respond to the contrasting proposals of Fairgate House and the more orange brick of Lanmor House. The choice of a light bronze metalwork for the balconies and windows sits comfortably with the ‘gold’ colour metalwork of Fairgate House.

Light coloured brick to core element

Warm buff brickwork

“Bronze” metalwork

Residential Quality

  • Due to the closeness of the neighbouring residential developments (Lanmor House and Fairgate House), the residential cores are positioned at either end of the building to minimise overlooking and increase dual aspect provision.

  • The north and south elevations step in on both sides to allow dual aspect units while maintaining approx. 11m separation distances to the neighbouring properties.

  • The current proposal allows for 83% of dual aspect units while allowing a fully active south facade along the High Road.

  • The side elevations on Fairgate House have obscured glazing, however, the separation distances proposed would be acceptable.

Illustrative Views

WEMBLEY HIGH ROAD

VIEW FROM THE NORTH

BAY STUDY

VIEW ALONG WEMBLEY HIGH ROAD LOOKING WEST

VIEW ALONG WEMBLEY HIGH ROAD LOOKING WEST

VIEW ALONG WEMBLEY HIGH ROAD LOOKING EAST

Proposed Mix of Uses

These proposals aim to deliver a 100% affordable housing scheme, workspace with a café for local people, and attractively landscaped and designed public space.

Landscaping and Public Realm

Character Areas

Rear Landscape

A courtyard garden to relax within a tranquil and secluded space.

Activated Alley & Street Frontage

A space to blend the realms of street and interiors. Spill out spaces for business and community enhancement.

Amenity Rooftop

A green oasis for both older and younger residents, highlighting views across the city.

Sustainability

The project is targeting high energy efficiency and sustainability standards in line with LB Brent and London Plan policies.

We plan to implement the following schemes.

  • Cycle Parking.
  • Circular Economy Principles.
  • PV Panels on available roof space will be installed where feasible.
  • Secure by design principals.
  • Water efficient sanitaryware.
  • Responsible sourcing of materials.
  • Air quality neutral development with no combustion on-site.
  • Non-domestic to achieve BREEAM ‘excellent’.

Access and Servicing

Site Access

  • A lay -by is provided on the High Road for servicing for the building from the ground floor.
  • An access road at the rear of Ujima House leads to the car park with level access provision for wheelchair users, cycle stores, and ancillary areas including plant rooms and the workspace.
  • West of the site is a link through a pedestrian route fronting the workspace/café areas.

Cycle Access

  • Residential cycle stores are located at the rear of the building on the ground floor and can be accessed via the car park entrance or via the western alley.
  • Accessible cycle stores are accessed from a secure controlled gate using a fob.

Parking

The proposal includes 3 car parking spaces for blue badge holders, in line with requirements.

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About Us

Brent Council acquired Ujima House in July 2017. Ujima House is one of the sites identified by Brent Council in the Wembley Housing Zone to deliver a mixed use development. The London Borough of Brent Planning Committee unanimously approved outline proposals (reference 19/3092) for 54 new homes, workspace and a café. The formal planning decision was issued on the 5th of February 2021. In August 2021, Brent Cabinet resolved to move the scheme forward to delivery, and Wates Residential were chosen as the delivery partner in 2023

Established in 1897, and celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2022, the Wates Group is one of the leading privately-owned construction, residential development, and property services businesses in the UK. Wates Residential is one of the UKs leading housing developers. Operating across London and the South, the business works with local authority and housing association partners to build more and better-quality homes. This is driven by a shared vision that everyone deserves a great place to live. Wates Residential apply a special type of regeneration to every scheme that they develop. This looks beyond bricks and mortar and is focused on supporting the wider long-term development of sustainable communities by placing local needs at the heart of every development.

Flanagan Lawrence is an award-winning, design-led studio of architects and interior designers, based in London. Their practice has continuously expanded to develop extensive and collective expertise across a broad range of public and private sectors and building typologies. Flanagan Lawrence has experience of designing for residential – private, build-torrent, affordable, commercial, hospitality and leisure, cultural and masterplan projects.

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Timeline

Autumn 2023

Target Submission of the Application

Autumn 2023
Spring 2024

Target Planning Permission

Spring 2024
Summer 2024

Anticipated Construction Start Date

Summer 2024
Winter 2025 / Spring 2026

Anticipated Completion

Winter 2025 / Spring 2026
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Have Your Say

Thank you for viewing our proposals for the new development. We appreciate you taking the time to visit our community hub and would be grateful if you could complete this feedback form.