Quintain Development in Wembley

I went to the launch of the latest round of the Quintain Development in Wembley last week. This is likely to be a huge driver of economic growth in the Borough despite the recession. The new Civic Centre is obviously a key part of making the whole thing work to restore Wembley to some of the status it had in the 1970s. Until the opening of the original Brent Cross in 1975, Wembley was among London's top ten shopping districts.

However, it is also interesting in terms of the contrast with the proposed Brent Cross development. One of the most damaging aspects of the new Brent Cross proposals is the generation of car trips that it will undoubtedly cause. The Quintain developemtn, in contrast, has always been designed as a public transport venue, largely because it would be impossible to service the needs of the Stadium entirely through the motor car. The original planning permission for the stadium was something of an epic, and the provision of public transport was central to the debate. The upgrade of Wembley Park Station was just one of the conditions. Hopefully, the success of the Quintain development will demonstrate that not every development needs to generate vast numbers of car trips.