Ahead of its demolition, pioneers of the original design and those who worked at the Hendon Waste Transfer station, came together one last time to see the facility. The waste transfer station received, compacted and transported waste from across Barnet, Brent and Camden for over 40 years.

The Hendon Waste Transfer station was opened by the London Brick Company on 14^th June 1979 and was designed to transfer around 1200 tonnes of waste per day, from the local boroughs to a landfill site in Bedfordshire. The waste was sustainably transported using an innovative system of containers and railway transportation. The site was operational until March 2021, when it was handed back to Barnet Council to enable the building of Brent Cross West station.

During our visit, we were joined by the facility’s designer and project engineer, Graham Cooper, alongside the very first operations manager, George Knight, and the very last operations manager, George Taylor, who currently works for LondonEnergy Ltd at their waste transfer facility in Wembley. All three shared plenty of stories and memories of this place, from how it became a model example for national and international waste disposal facilities, to the advanced technology used. You can see the original flyer about the facility here.

Having joined the London Brick Company, Graham Cooper was just 30 years old when he designed the facility. Mr Cooper explained that he designed the facility with an aim to keep the building self-contained, whilst simultaneously accommodating for as much waste as possible. One of the challenges faced was that before construction could begin, workers discovered puffs of smoke from the ground where in the 1950s and 1960s steam engines had dropped their fires. These were still active and needed to be put out. When asked what he was most proud of, Mr Graham Cooper said: “I am most proud of how a small plot of land was transformed into a successful model for waste transfer sites. We had people from all over the world visit the site and use it as a baseline example.”

George Knight was the first operations manager who worked for approximately 15 years at the facility. Mr Knight explained that because this was the first ever waste transfer station of its kind, it was initially hard work to get the place up and running. However, after a brief period, the facility was well structured, and tonnes of waste was dispatched via two trains a day, carrying large containers. When asked about the local community and their views on the waste station, Mr Knight said: “We kept the facility constantly clean and had daily washes scheduled. Also, because of the way the facility was designed, dust and noise were contained so well that many locals did not even know a waste transfer station existed near them. Graham did a great job considering this important factor”. Despite having the facility right behind their houses, the locals living on Brent Midland Terrace NW2 (now called Brent Terrace), had a very good relationship with the facility managers, which was something they were proud of and maintained.

George Taylor, who was employed by George Knight when he was just a 16-year-old apprentice looking for employment, worked at the facility for almost 40 years. During that time, he had multiple roles, from working on cranes, to being a workshop foreman and site foreman, eventually being appointed as site manager. Mr Taylor added that many of the employees were locals, and often, they stayed many years working at the facility.

What will happen to the facility?

The facility will be demolished and replaced by residential and commercial properties during the later stages of the Brent Cross Town redevelopment. A replacement waste transfer station will be provided to handle up to 195,000 tonnes of black bag, mixed recycling, food and street cleaning waste each year. Sustainability will inform the design of the new waste facility and to minimise the impact on residents, it will have state-of-the-art odour control technology.

A demolition date is yet to be confirmed, however you can keep up to date on the Hendon Waste Transfer Station by visiting the website page here.