Nearly 50 objections have been submitted against the plan for a mixed-use development in Wembley
Plans for a new 25-storey care home and co-living apartment block in Wembley has been likened to “warehousing the elderly in the sky”.
Splendid Hospitality Group (SHG) – a company that specialises in building and operating hotels, care homes, and restaurants – has submitted plans for the redevelopment of an “underutilised car park” on Wembley Hill Road. The site is currently used as the surface car park for the nearby Holiday Inn.
If approved, the project would deliver a 90-person care home over the first eight floors, with the remaining 17 floors to be occupied by the 329-bed co-living development. At the time of writing, the scheme has received nearly 50 objections, with concerns raised about whether a high-rise building would be suitable for vulnerable, elderly residents.
Documents filed alongside the application show plans for the dual purpose development to sit within an interconnected building, with blocks ranging in height from eight to a maximum 25 storeys. The care home bedrooms would be arranged around the perimeter of the building “to ensure natural light and privacy”, according to the developer. A total of ten rooms would be located on the first level, with a further 16 on the remaining floors.
The developer has pointed to a growing need for care beds in the borough. However, so far 47 residents have objected to the plans, citing concerns around overdevelopment, increased traffic, its impact on local services, and whether it would deliver good outcomes for care home residents.
Martin Francis – the owner of local blogging site, Wembley Matters – has likened the scheme to “warehousing the elderly in the sky”. Others have questioned whether this type of development could provide “an appropriate standard of care and quality of life” for care residents.
One objector wrote against the application: “The application raises serious concerns regarding the suitability of a 25-storey building for elderly and vulnerable care residents, particularly in relation to accessibility, evacuation, wellbeing, social isolation, and access to meaningful outdoor space.
“The development would intensify traffic, servicing, drop-off activity and visitor parking pressures in an area already affected by congestion and event-day stresses. The application does not adequately address the operational impacts associated with care home servicing, staff movements, medical transport and visitor access.”
Another added: “While large-scale developments may increase capacity, there appears to be limited evidence demonstrating that a 25-storey care home environment provides better outcomes for elderly residents, particularly those with dementia, mobility limitations, or cognitive impairment, when compared with smaller-scale and lower-rise care settings.
“The application does not appear to demonstrate clearly how these resident wellbeing considerations have been addressed within a development of this scale and height. Given the vulnerability of many potential residents, I believe the public health and quality-of-life implications of this proposal require far greater scrutiny before permission is considered.”
The developer claims there is currently “a strong demand” for care beds in Brent that is set to continue over the next decade. A needs assessment submitted with the application suggests that at present there is an undersupply of around 563 care beds, with demand forecast to increase by approximately 696 places by 2034.
The scheme will be reviewed by Brent Council’s planning committee in due course, which will then determine whether or not it will be given the go ahead.
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