The redevelopment of the 40 acre site can now proceed following approval from the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Theresa May. Harrow Council's planning committee unanimously approved the plans for the site in June. The plans included proposals for up to 985 new homes.
The proposed regeneration project will be developed by Land Securities in partnership with Kodak, which is undertaking a phased consolidation of its manufacturing facilities to free up space for the proposed development. It is thought that plans for the scheme could include £35m of affordable housing.
Land Securities and photographic equipment manufacturer Kodak formed a joint venture agreement in 2008 to redevelop the site, which has been the base for Kodak's manufacturing for 120 years.
Plans for a 40-acre strip of land on the site include 985 new homes; a new primary school; medical centre; shops, and offices. The development will be phased over 10 to 12 years and construction is planned to start in early 2014.
“The next ten years will see a transformation of an area that has been historically very important to Harrow," said Councillor Keith Ferry, the portfolio holder for regeneration at Harrow Council, according to local reports. “As a council we are determined to deliver on our promise to regenerate and build the most sustainable community in Harrow and to establish a thriving residential and commercial centre.”
Under the plans the first two phases of the scheme would be built on a 10-acre site that has already been cleared in the south-eastern corner and the 20 adjacent acres, which contain vacant buildings.
Plans for the development include a number of new public parks and a new power system for the development, which could produce heat for all the buildings on the site from one boiler.
The proposed regeneration is the biggest the Council has seen for a generation, it said, and forms part of the wider Heart of Harrow project, which aims to create 3,000 new jobs and 2,500 new homes in total in Harrow and Wealdstone.
