Brent Cross Town, the £8bn development at the heart of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration scheme, has started major construction on its first buildings bringing hundreds of new jobs and training opportunities to the area.

Barnet’s new neighbourhood, Brent Cross Town, is being delivered in partnership by Barnet Council and Related Argent and is fulfilling its promise to provide affordable homes alongside new public parks and community infrastructure first.

New homes at Brent Cross Town

The first building to be constructed at Brent Cross Town will be a new affordable residential building, it will create 120 new homes and will welcome residents to their new homes late next year.

Designed by award-winning Maccreanor Lavington and Whittam Cox Architects, the new one to four bedroom apartments will provide new homes for existing secure tenants and leaseholder residents of Norden Point, Clare Point and Whcycote Point in the Whitefield Estate. A small number of homes will be available via Shared Ownership schemes.

L&Q has been appointed by Related Argent as the registered housing provider for this new affordable residential building. L&Q is also Barnet Council’s selected partner for the new affordable homes it is delivering, located off Brent Terrace, which will provide new residences for other secure tenants and leaseholders living on the Whitefield Estate.

Alongside this, construction is also progressing on the first homes to buy at Brent Cross Town. Work is underway in constructing The Ashbee, designed by Squire & Partners, which will create 107 new homes and which is also set to complete by the end of 2024. More information here.

New jobs for local people

Both of the residential buildings are being constructed by Midgard, part of the JRL Group, a UK-owned construction specialist. In the construction of the two residential buildings up to 350 people will be working on the sites at peak time.

Our commitment across the regeneration scheme is to ensure at least 20% of our workforce are from Barnet, Brent and Camden. We are also focused on bringing more women into our construction teams.

Midgard is also offering apprenticeships for young people and has set a target of 6% of its overall workforce to be made up of apprentices.

Apprentices like 19-year old Ruben Bizgan, a recently qualified carpenter working at Brent Cross Town said: “I started working with Midgard as an apprentice carpenter and after a year’s training I’m now a fully qualified carpenter working as part of the team that is building the new homes at Brent Cross Town. I’ve lived in Barnet for the past couple of years, so it is a great feeling to be working on a project that is going to change the face of the local area.”

The company will also be delivering work experience, training and skills programmes for schools and the local community.

Councillor Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council, added: “Ensuring local people benefit from the development of Brent Cross Town is essential. Combined with new construction jobs and training opportunities as part of the build, this development will provide new homes for council tenants living in the Whitefield Estate and it’s being completed alongside community infrastructure such as parks, retail and leisure facilities before any private sale homes are delivered.”

More information on current vacancies, apprenticeships and training opportunities can be found here.

Building a sustainable future

Brent Cross Town has been designed to provide the facilities and amenities that residents need for daily life all available within walking distance.

New residents will also benefit from Brent Cross Town’s state-of-the-art district heat network, being created in partnership with Vattenfall, which will deliver reliable, low-carbon heating and hot water to all Brent Cross Town residents. The partnership with Vattenfall is part of Brent Cross Town’s commitment to being a net zero town by 2030 at the latest.

For further information on Brent Cross Town click here.