BigHospitality: "Ed’s Easy Diner to open first al fresco site at Brent Cross"

Link to BigHospitality web site

"1950s-style American diner chain, Ed's Easy Diner, is to open its first alfresco unit, and the ninth site in the UK for the group, at Brent Cross Shopping Centre at the end of March.

"Andrew Guy, director of operations of Ed's Easy Diner, said:

"We're delighted to be opening our first outdoor unit at Brent Cross, a landmark return to one of London's busiest shopping centres."

ShoppingCentre: "Hammerson to ditch offices"

Link to ShoppingCentre
web site

"Hammerson has signalled a radical rethink of its corporate strategy, that will see it selling off its office assets to become a specialist retail investor. Until now it had trumpted the advantages of a balanced portfolio of shopping centres, retail parks and offices, across the UK and France."

Evening Standard: "New flats threaten City's future, MPs told"

Link to web site

"City chiefs warned that the Square Mile's success as a financial centre is threatened by an explosion in the number of offices being
converted into homes.

"A Communities and Local Government department spokeswoman said:

"The department is reviewing how change of use is handled for applications involving commercial buildings being converted to residential buildings and is considering responses."

iPanema Returns 17 March to 5 August

"You know Spring/Summer has arrived once iPANEMA returns to Brent Cross. 

"This year you will find us in the Lower West Mall opposite Hollister. 

"The New [sic] stunning Summer 2012 Collection of Women's, Men's and Children's Flip Flops is full of the seasons [sic] must have colours and prints. Over the summer your [sic] also have a chance to customise your flip flops with iPANEMA's exclusive UK launch of the iPANEMA PiN."

Hammerson's David Atkins and his REIT RNS

Big Cheese report

"Real Estate Investment Trust: Regulatory News Service" (We knew that)

"Following a full review of strategy, Hammerson will now focus as a specialist retail REIT operating in the UK and France. Our standing office investments will be sold over the medium term in order to maximise value, with capital redeployed to retail assets, increasing our focus and scale.

"David Atkins, Chief Executive of Hammerson, said:

"These results prove the benefit of high quality assets combined with active management, which have delivered good income and capital growth in a challenging environment.

In addition, we have enhanced the prospective returns from the portfolio through targeted acquisitions and development activity, but retain a strong, flexible financing structure which will allow us to take advantage of further investment opportunities.

Following the review of our strategy we will focus on being the best owner-manager and developer of retail property within Europe. Hammerson has created a retail business delivering outperformance from prime assets in winning locations.

We now intend to sell our standing office investments over the medium term to maximise returns, redeploying capital into the retail sector to exploit our expertise and build on our existing scale. This will create efficiencies that lead to further cost savings and income growth from our portfolio."

The Observer: "Why we need to rethink our cities if Britain is to thrive"

Link to The Observer

"If London is going well, the country is likely to be going well, but if London is into trouble, it spells trouble beyond. London, however much its dominance may be resented, needs to be vigorous both for its own citizens and for the broader national economy.

"... One way of thinking about Britain's economic challenge is to recast it as an urban challenge. If our cities can grow, so will the economy. We should celebrate urban density. We should find ways to concentrate our people in enjoyable urban spaces. We should make sure that our burgeoning cities connect with each other. 

"And the best way to achieve this is to make sure that our cities have greater powers to govern and tax themselves."

PropertyWeek The Movie: "Why is Hammerson exiting offices?"

Giles Barrie and James Whitmore analyse Hammerson's decision to sell its £600m office portfolio, in order to concentrate on retail.

They also consider if a "tidied-up" Hammerson is more likely to be a takeover victim. 

---

Link to web site

"Property firm Hammerson caught the market on the hop with its decision to sell off all its office developments to focus on its retail assets, but with the employment situation looking bleak, the market was quick to applaud the decision.

"Hammerson chairman John Nelson said:

"We believe that occupier and investment demand for retail space will be concentrated on modern, well-maintained properties in the very best locations, such as those owned by Hammerson. Properties without these attributes may experience rental and capital value declines in 2012,

Our regionally-dominant shopping centres and convenient retail parks continue to generate demand from successful retailers. We will increase our focus and scale in our chosen retail markets, to capitalise further on structural changes in consumer behaviour."

"Extra, Extra!" "Hammerson Pulls Out of Office Developments!" (Brent Cross Cricklewood now an 'Albatross Project'!)

Daily Telegraph: 
"Hammerson to exit London portfolio, to increase focus on retail"

Link to Daily Telegraph

"The company will sell its standing office investments, worth more than £500m, 'over the medium term' and use the proceeds in its retail portfolio.

"... There have been question marks about the future of its London business after Martin Jepson, head of the division, quit last year and law firm Cameron McKenna pulled out of a pre-let deal at Principal Place [above].

David Atkins, chief executive, said:

“Following the review of our strategy, we will focus on being the best owner-manager and developer of retail property within Europe." [And sell off all the 'non-Shopping Centre' parts of Brent Cross, as quickly as they can, no doubt.]

---

Evening Standard: 
"Hammerson leaps as it puts its £500m offices up for sale" 

Link to Evening Standard

"Hammerson hung the 'for sale' sign over £500 million of London offices today, as the developer pumps cash into a host of retail assets such as the capital's Brent Cross shopping centre. [ha, bloody ha]

"Atkins [right] insisted Hammerson would get a good price for the buildings, despite a backdrop of sales by Ireland's banks and state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, as they get rid of distressed property loans. The disposals will also be spread over two years, to ensure the firm maximises value."

---

"Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from old and young !
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung."

---

(link to Hammerson)

---

Link to "A bigger Brent Cross back on the Hammerson agenda".

Link to HOME (see all posts).

Network Rail: "New station concourse at King's Cross opens 19 March"

"The opening will mark a major milestone in the redevelopment of the station. Started in 2007, it will be fully completed by the end of 2013, once we’ve removed the 1970s extension at the front of the station and created a new public square." 

Link to Network Rail web site

"King’s Cross station is being transformed, with better connections to St Pancras International and London Underground, increased capacity for trains, and improved facilities.

"The centre-piece of the redevelopment is a new concourse on the west side of the station, which includes a larger ticket office, shops, waiting areas, a wider range of food and drink outlets, and more modern facilities.

"Following the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, work will start on a new piazza in front of the station. To make way for this, the current concourse will be demolished, revealing [below] the Grade 1-listed Victorian façade, which has been fully restored." [This text has been de-PRspeaked, to make it readable.]

---

Link to web site
(if error, try copying
 http://www.constructionatkingscross.com/
to a new browser window)

"Construction News at Kings Cross"

"This website [right] will keep you informed about construction activity required to deliver offices, homes, shops, community facilities, and fantastic new streets and squares to King's Cross. 

"Information within these pages relates to the 67 acres between King's Cross and St Pancras International Stations, extending north, beyond Regent's Canal to the High Speed 1 railway embankment. 

"Feel free to ask us a question or read about construction milestones, technical achievements in our articles, and special notices of future works."

[More than 'London Communications' has ever managed at Brent Cross.]

---

Link to the "King's Cross Railway Lands Group", which is:

"active in Camden and Islington, seeking (for 20 years) to secure community benefits from the development at King's Cross."

Link to the "King's Cross Development Forum":

"Under the Localism Act, a neighbourhood such as the King’s Cross area can have a neighbourhood forum that creates a neighbourhood development plan (and neighbourhood development orders) for approval by the local authorities and an independent inspector."

---

Evening Standard: "The first affordable homes are unveiled in King’s Cross rebirth"

Link to Evening Standard (page 7 of PDF file)

"One Housing Group has 41 one-bedroom flats and 23 two-bedroom apartments for sale, across two top-notch blocks on the northern edge of the site. 

"One has been designed by the Stirling Prizewinning architects Maccreanor Lavington as a cluster of three buildings up to 16 storeys tall set around a private residents’ courtyard. The other, by PRP architects, has 16 storeys of dramatic pre-cast concrete and black glass, with shops at ground-floor level and another private courtyard."

BBC: "David Cameron criticises 'snobbish' attacks on business"

Link to BBC web site and iPlayer

"Prime Minister David Cameron has said attacks on business are motivated by 'snobbery' and that enterprise is a force for 'social progress'.

"In a speech in London, he urged people to resist the 'dangerous rhetoric' of those who say business is inherently self-interested, and cannot be trusted." [Only Hammerson, David, only Hammerson.]

"... Mr Cameron said he was 'sick of anti-business snobbery', adding:

"The snobbery that says business has no inherent moral worth like the state does, that it isn't really to be trusted, that it should stay out of social concerns, and stick to making the money that pays the taxes."

---

Reports and reaction:

Evening Standard: "Sunshine in Southwark"

Link to Evening Standard

"... It was with some trepidation that I visited the latest colourful addition to Southwark's social housing stock on Brandon Street in SE17, on the southern fringes of the notorious and soon-to-be-demolished Heygate Estate at Elephant and Castle, as part of the area's 15-year £1.5billion regeneration. The £2.45million Brandon Street building, which will be managed by London & Quadrant Housing Association, is one of two recently completed in the area by Shoreditch-based Metaphorm Architects.

"... It's a strident answer to a timeless architectural challenge: how can individual residential housing nurture sociable public life? If Metaphorm's Brandon Street building gives one answer in its decorative sunset of an eastern face; it adds a more functional one in the bench at the foot of the façade. Both the architects and Southwark council should be praised for doing this: this is a piece of urban furniture that most planners would have tried to remove for fear of people making noise, or having too much fun, near where the electorate lives. They did it anyway, and it's lovely, generous and already well used."

Hammerson's new Brent Cross
(Er..., no, it's the Heygate Estate)

Oh, that's Brent Cross

20-22 March: Ecobuild Exhibition

Link to ecobuild web site

"Ecobuild, the world's biggest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment, opens in less than a month.

Click here for your free ticket now, for:

• More exhibitors than ever - over 1,500 suppliers, thousands of products, hundreds of new launches
• Dozens of attractions and live demonstrations - new for 2012 include ZEDlife, the LoCal House, Cool Concrete and Fabric First
• Building on the Olympics - a dedicated series of events focusing on the learning legacy from the 2012 Games
• Hundreds of seminars every day - Sustainable architecture & design, Standard guides & regulations, Better through BIM, Sustainable by design, Refurbishing Britain and more
• Plus RIBA CPD sessions, BREEAM awards, TRADA timber tours, the UKGBC 'big tent' and many more highlights."

Barnet Times: "John Lewis, Starbucks and Wallis at Brent Cross Shopping Centre win Hammerson's We Love Retail awards"

Link to Barnet Times

"Brent Cross Shopping Centre won three awards at last week’s We Love Retail award ceremony.

"David Atkins, Hammerson chief executive, commented:

"We work with the best retail, catering and leisure brands in the UK and there was tough competition for each award."

'Better Buildings Partnership' - Steady Eddie's chair

"The Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) has appointed Paul Edwards, Hammerson’s Head of Sustainability as its new Chairman. 

"The BBP is a collaboration of fifteen of the largest commercial property owners in the UK, who aim to improve the sustainability of existing commercial building stock and deliver significant savings in CO2 emissions. 

"As Head of Sustainability at Hammerson, Paul drives value from the REIT’s portfolio focusing on five main performance areas: climate change and energy; resource use; community regeneration [ha!]; supply chain and customers. 

"Paul Edwards commented: 

"The BBP is a fantastic organisation, and I am extremely proud to take on this role and excited about the challenge. We have achieved some great results so far, and I hope we can continue to deliver toolkits and take forward initiatives that help the property industry to move forward towards a low carbon future."

The Guardian: "London office developments 'at risk from eurozone crisis'"

Link to The Guardian

"A property consultancy has warned that more office developments could stall in the City of London as the eurozone debt crisis affects tenant demand and funding.

"...  Developer Hammerson suffered a blow last month when law firm CMS Cameron McKenna pulled out of a partial pre-let at Principal Place in the City. At about the same time, work on the £800m Pinnacle tower on Bishopsgate stalled again. Funding from a group of lenders including HSBC hinges on the developer, Arab Investments, pre-letting a large chunk of the planned 63-storey building."

E C Harris: London Office Development Pipeline (Going down the tubes)

Link to E C Harris web site

"A new report out today from EC Harris, the global built asset consultancy, reveals that the size of the London office development pipeline is unprecedented, with over 150 potential projects ready to deliver 53 million square feet of gross internal office floor space by 2016. However; [semi-colon??] the report warns that many of the developments are in a precarious position with projects struggling to attract pre-let tenants and external funding which could see 50% never even reaching the construction site.

"The report, entitled 'London Office Development: The Challenge Ahead' confirms that the City of London remains the centre of attention for developers and investors alike, with over 60% of the total area (34m square foot gross internal area) and over 50% of the number of potential projects located there. The average size of a City project is circa 420,000 square foot gross, nearly twice the size of those planned for the West End or Midtown, reflecting the large scale tower schemes that are planned or under construction such as 20 Fenchurch Street and the Leadenhall Building.

"Richard Taylor, Head of Commercial Development at EC Harris and author of the report said:

“On paper, the development pipeline for London offices shows massive potential and investment. However, in reality the market is very different, with a large number of these projects unlikely to be delivered as they struggle to find pre-lets and external funding. To stand a chance for success, projects need to differentiate and create a significant market advantage if they are to maximise their chances of completion."

Croydon Guardian: "Developers to talk up Croydon in Cannes" (and Hammerson cans much of its development in Brent Cross)

Link to Croydon Guardian

"Some of the biggest developers in Croydon are set to be the keynote speakers for 'Develop Croydon' at this year’s MIPIM event.The annual trade fair in Cannes starts on 7 March.

"... Speaking on behalf of the plans will be Lawrence Hutchings, UK retail managing director for Hammerson plc, ... as well as Jon Rouse, chief executive of the London Borough of Croydon."

Fenwick Brent Cross: No pretension

Link to Fenwick web site

Fenwick Brent Cross

Family-friendly fashion and homewares

"Fenwick Brent Cross is one of North London's finest department stores, a permanent fixture of the ground-breaking Brent Cross Shopping Centre since it opened in 1976.

"Whether it's a designer handbag, a shiny new set of saucepans, a super-sized sofa, the latest toys or the hottest lip gloss in town, Fenwick Brent Cross delivers. 

"And it does so in a fun, family-friendly way. No pretension, just great shopping, free parking, a memorable day out."

Brent Cross Shopping Centre Opening Hours and other information

Brent Cross Centre Opening Hours

Monday - Friday 10am - 8pm

Saturday 9am - 7pm

Sunday 12noon - 6pm

"Sign up here and you can take advantage of our fab theatres and events ticket-buying service find about more sustainability at green matters and spot the hottest new offers form your favourite stores."

[They may also offer a grammar course.]

Home is where Hammerson isn't

"A Place to call Home: Where we live and why"

16 February - 28 April

Monday - Saturday 10am - 5pm
Tuesdays until 10pm

Venue:
Gallery One, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London W1B 1AD

Description:
Home is an essential part of us all. The houses, flats, tower blocks and estates that we live in are extensions of our everyday lives. They are practical places - buildings for us to eat or sleep in - yet for most, home is the most expensive thing that we ever buy, a complex thing offering a lifetime of investment and preoccupation.

This new RIBA exhibition, guest curated by Sarah Beeny, charts the story of the design and appeal of everyday homes in the UK. It explores the advent of mass building from the late 18th century, through to the present day via suburban expansion and post-war experiment.

It reveals the characteristics of a British obsession and the experiments that have shaped how and where we live.

Part of the RIBA's Home Season 16 February - 28 April 2012 - talks, displays, film screenings and more.

Free admission
Admission to all RIBA exhibitions is free. Please note, galleries may be closed early for special events. Call +44 (0)20 7307 3694 to check opening times.

Other events in the series:

• High Society
• The Home I Grew Up In
• BBC Radio Four's Thinking Allowed - HOME at RIBA
• A Place Called Bata-ville
• Your House, Your Home
• Land of Promise
• Dilapidated Dwelling
• A House to Call Home

Organiser:
RIBA

---

BBC: "A history of British homes - Sarah Beeny"

Link to BBC web site

"From the first Georgian townhouses to back-to-back Victorian terraces - and from 1960s towerblocks to sprawling modern estates - British homes have changed their shapes and sizes, and changed with the times, through the past 250 years.

"In a new exhibition - A Place to call Home: Where we live and why - the Royal Institute of British Architects studies the way housing was adapted to meet the needs of a growing population entering the modern age.

"Here, guest curator of the exhibition, property developer and television presenter Sarah Beeny takes a journey through time."

It's Hammerson. It's Glitzy. It's Swanky. It's Tonight.

Link to web site

"A GLITZY bash awaits retailers at an awards ceremony ... Hammerson is hosting, in its first-ever retail awards, at the swanky Royal Opera House in London.

"The 'We Love Retail' ceremony is being held [tonight] to reward shops which have delivered exemplary service in Hammerson’s ten UK shopping centres."

Fred'sDaysOut: Until 19 Feb: Zippos Circus 2012

"There are more than 7,000 free parking spaces" (Two shown)
Link to Fred'sDaysOut web site

"Zippos new show for 2012 comes to Brent Cross, combining the best of traditional and contemporary circus, bringing together performers from Africa, Argentina, France, Japan, the Ukraine, Brazil and the UK.

"New performances in 2012 include:

• The Delbosq Clowns from France, Emil and Andrea

• New routines for Yasmine Smart’s liberty and dressage horses, built around pulsating drum rhythms and modern rock anthems, with the beat of bolas eching the pounding of hooves in the sawdust

• The Kenya Troupe of African hip-hop dancers, acrobats and tumblers, providing a touch of Swahili Nashati (strength) in their pyramid building and limbo

• Anya, from the Ukraine, who juggles within a Perspex and steel triangle and with fire.

"The Globe of Death motorbike display is also back by popular demand (see photo) to ensure that the final minutes of the show provide a last, massive adrenaline rush!"

[Reposted from Sep 2010] Brent Cross Coalition Raises Questions on Planning Application Viability

Has the Planning and Environment Committee been misled, regarding delivery of the full BXC scheme?

Our interpretation of the planning documents for this scheme leads us to believe that the committee may have been misled.

In the planning meeting of 29 July to discuss the Brent Cross Cricklewood development (BXC) one councillor asked an incisive question:

“I am experienced in large regenerations. How is this protected against developers coming back to renegotiate?”

Hammerson makes bold investment in outer London borough

Link to The Guardian G2

"And so to the top of a windswept multi-storey car park in Brent Cross, er, Croydon, to take in the view on a day when the drizzle is face-slappingly sharp and it's so cold you can no longer feel your toes. On a good day, you can see Wembley stadium to the north, and Golders Green, er, the Downs to the south, but all I see is grey.

"Not many would agree. Is there anything worth seeing in the town? 'Not really,' says Wendy Thomas, standing outside the Whitgift shopping centre. 'It needs a facelift'." [Hammerson is trying to buy Whitgift, and is investing in Centrale.]

Wed 15 Feb: Tacking Challenges

Link to:
The Highgate Society

Just £47.46 to learn all about Hammerson. (A bargain, if we may be so bold. A bargain.)

Link to web site to order

"The 'Hammerson plc - Company Capsule' contains a company overview, key facts, key employees, products and services, competitor benchmarking data, locations and subsidiaries as well as financial ratios.

Scope:

• Identifies crucial company information about 'Hammerson plc' along with major products and services for business intelligence requirements
• Details locations, subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures
• Provides analysis on financial ratios along with a competitor benchmarking section
• Identifies key employees to assist with key business decisions
• Provides annual and interim financial ratios.

Reasons To Buy:

• Enhance your understanding of 'Hammerson plc'
• Increase business/sales activities by understanding your customers' businesses better
• Recognize potential partnerships and suppliers
• Qualify prospective partners, affiliates or suppliers
• Acquire up-to-date company information and an understanding of the company's financial health."

The Retail Bulletin: "Hammerson plans redevelopment of Croydon's Centrale" (Been around, this press release, hasn't it?)

Link to 'The Retail Bulletin'

"Hammerson is planning to redevelop the Centrale shopping centre in Croydon."

"Lawrence Hutchings, Hammerson managing director UK Retail commented:

"There has been significant underinvestment in Croydon's retail core for some time, with major brands missing from the town's retail mix."

---

Also link to

"Brent Cross owners build more space, to accommodate retailer expansions".

---

And with Hammerson already involving off-shore tax havens for Brent Cross planning applications, allow us to offer Larry a day out:

Link to web site

"Driving sales and market share, mitigating risk, and strengthening your business through international multichannel growth strategies."

Attend this crucial, retailer-led, one day, low-cost event to find out how to: 

• Reduce risk through choosing the right locations for international retail expansion 
• Ensure smoother expansion through effective retail localisation strategies 
• Strengthen your growth initiatives through an effective international HR strategy ... 

"With the UK economy barely showing any signs of growth, coupled with British shoppers reigning in spending due to rising prices and an unsecure job market; [semi-colon? why?] retailers are increasing looking to the international marketplace as a key survival strategy.

"... Further to a period on in-depth research with a wide variety of retailers, The Retail Bulletin is delighted to announce the launch of the The Retail Bulletin International Expansion Conference, [yes, there really are two "THE's. Did you notice them?] taking place in central London’s Cavendish Conference Centre (W1G 9DT) on Tuesday, 27 March 2012."

---

And if we mentioned that the forthcoming third

"Customer Loyalty Conference 2012"

couldn't get anyone who attended the first two to go again, it would be a JOKE, okay! A Joke!

"I say, isn't that old Stewie? He's in Redbridge now, you know!)"

Former Barnet Planning Big Cheese, Stewart Murray
 (far left, next to Dept. for Communities & Local Gov. Bob Neil MP)
playing in the Brent Cross Cricklewood sand pit
(Click above for new 'Planning & Regeneration' Redbridge article

- registration required)

"Redbridge is one of only three English councils - and the first in London - now charging Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

"Murray says councillors saw the tariff as a way to end the 'negotiations, delays and frustrations' caused by the Section 106 regime, which will only be used to extract developer contributions for affordable homes, and site-specific mitigation measures, once councils adopt CIL. There was also growing concern that population growth was outstripping infrastructure provision, he says.  [Never a problem in Barnet, that?]

 

"Redbridge's CIL requires developers to pay a flat rate of £70 per square metre of new or additional internal floor space, in all locations across the borough. The borough was able to begin charging CIL this year, after councillors endorsed the report of an independent examiner, who judged last September that the proposals were sound."

---

Link to

"Barnet's 'Director for Planning, Environment and Regeneration' has had enough!"

Evening Standard: "A red flag for British Land as the market gets bearish" (plus comment on Hammerson)

Link to Evening Standard
(nice picture, but refers to later story)

"Agent CBRE publishes a 'Tale of Two Cities' report today. The West End where things are OK, and the City, where things are not OK.

"... Hammerson is the next-biggest Real Estate Investment Trust - its shares are worth 27% less than net assets of £3.8 billion. David Atkins became chief executive in 2009. 

"Veteran property analyst Alan Carter has previously supported Atkins' cautiousness. 'But this low-risk approach has yet to deliver a material re-rating… leaving the question as to whether it ever will.' 'Buck up, Dave' is the implied message."

BBC: "Economics explained: Plan A vs Plan B"

Link to BBC Today

"You cut debt, that is good, but gives you less growth. 

"Borrow more, that gives you more growth for a while, but saddles you with more debt. 

"... I brought together two economists, who are both well respected and who are some way apart on the issue, to do a neat little explainer, to help you make up your mind on the issue."

Croydon Guardian: "Hammerson's submit plans for Centrale revamp"

Link to Croydon Guardian

"Billed the first phase in the company’s 'long-term vision for retail in Croydon', the move is the clearest indication yet of Hammerson’s desire to be the chosen developer for the nearby Whitgift Centre.

"Last week it was revealed Hammerson were among seven companies vying to be the preferred partner in redeveloping the North End mall." 

---

Evening Standard: "Hammerson plans £50m Croydon retail development"

"Hammerson bought the centre in March last year, and has since been establishing itself as an investor in Croydon, and is one of a handful of big-hitting property developers hoping to invest in another Croydon shopping centre - the Whitgift centre.

"Australian developer Westfield, British Land and Hammerson are among parties vying to redevelop the Whitgift."  [Link]

---

Link to:

"British Land, Land Securities, Hammerson, Lend Lease and Delancey fight it out over Whitgift".

Public Finance: "Regeneration revisited"

Link to web site

"Councils have to look for new ways of regenerating our towns and cities, and should consider alternatives to the Private Finance Initiative such as Local Asset Backed Vehicles.

"... And indeed, despite this time of austerity, many councils are pushing ahead with major regeneration schemes. For instance, the London Borough of Barnet is promoting a major multi-dimensional programme for a new town centre at Brent Cross Cricklewood. This will include enhanced transport facilities, new Northern Line and Midland Mainline stations, a new high street and significantly improved green space, thousands of new jobs and new housing." (Yes, really)

Hammerson and Great Portland Estates rubbished in comparison with British Land, by Evening Standard

Link to Evening Standard

"British Land has opened the gap in London's skyscraper race as it forges ahead with its £1.1 billion development programme in the capital, chief executive Chris Grigg said today.

"It's a striking contrast with Hammerson's failure to sign up CMS Cameron McKenna to its Principal Place development, and Great Portland Estates' reluctance to commit to 100 Bishopsgate."

---

Other news...

Link to "Reuters: British Land puts Meadowhall stake up for sale"

"Large UK shopping centres that dominate their catchment area like Meadowhall in Sheffield are highly prized by property investors, as they have so far managed to weather the tough retailing climate better than the rest of the UK.

"Australian developer Westfield, British Land and Hammerson are among parties vying to redevelop an ageing mall in Croydon, South London, illustrating the strong demand for such assets."

Scenes From The Suburbs

'State of the Suburbs' report, on Mill Hill East web site

""Barnet is a north London borough that closely identifies with its city-suburb profile. In fact, its sustainable community strategy and long-term vision (2006) is entitled 'Barnet: a first class suburb' and is a strategy that reflects the relationship it has with the capital and the issues that can arise out of an area in demand by inner-London professionals.

"For a London borough, Barnet offers a relatively good quality of life, with long life expectancy, alongside a high level of connectivity and good amenities." 

---

[Reposted] Wood Green: Lessons for the public to distrust Hammerson over Brent Cross (allegedly)

Link to British Pathe video, from 1970s

Link to 'Bowes & Bounds Connected'

"The design of the Wood Green project included the local authority working in partnership with commercial developers, to ensure profits from the project were made available to benefit the whole community. However, the ambitious plans to completely redevelop the town centre were not without difficulty, as the British Pathe archive newsreel shows.

"The complex financial arrangements between large, profit-driven corporate investors, and a local authority keen to maximise local advantage, were fraught. The end result was that Haringey Council had to pick up the bill for much of the development. (How things have changed... who could now possibly imagine financial institutions causing a crisis which resulted in local authorities having to cut public expenditure!)"