Agenda item

Nigel Cramb, Manager - Partnerships and Business Engagement, updated the Committee on how Crossrail was stimulating Town Centre development. In terms of the wider economic development opportunities being created by the development of the Crossrail scheme, Mr Cramb endeavoured to set the wider context.

From the mid 1970s, Hayes had seen long-term decline in the manufacturing sector, with the most high profile loss being EMI, which employed a workforce in excess of 14,000 and occupied approximately 150 acres. Other prominent employers, such as Fairey Aviation and Nestles, had since closed. However, the growth of Heathrow and airport-related employment somewhat mitigated the impact of the decline of the area's manufacturing industries. Nevertheless, the closure of the factories left Hayes with underutilised employment land, including that of the former EMI enterprise.

Pre-Crossrail, Hayes saw considerable investment in the 1990s and early 2000s, including development of the High Point Village by Ballymore, the creation of the employment park in Blyth Road by The Blackstone Group, JER Partners and Resolution Property, and the former Safeway's headquarters complex, which was developed to become Hyde Park and the home to Rackspace.

Town centres along the Crossrail line, both to the east and west of London, had been the recipients of investment before Hayes and West Drayton, with  Ealing a good example of a town centre that, due to its closer proximity to London,  was already benefitting from the potential of Crossrail.

Since then, the proximity to the Crossrail station had been a major factor in investment, seen in the U+I Group's acquisition of the London Gate site in April 2011. The site acquired for the £250m worth of mixed-use development, including residential, commercial and community facilities.

This was followed by a number of other investors such as SEGRO and their residential partner, Barratt London, who had secured the Nestles site and were planning to deliver a mixed use residential / commercial scheme. It was expected that additional residential developments and subsequent employment opportunities would be forthcoming as people moved into the area to populate such developments.

Challenges to the Council includedstriking the appropriate balance between residential and commercial building development. In addition,  the conversion of ageing 'low annual yield' employment sites into residential developments could result in owners only interested  in profit over a short time period, rather than year-on-year levels of income. However, it was noted that many of these low yield sites provided a range of local employment. Crossrail's connectivity and speed was expected to increase employment opportunities to some residents, however, it was too early to judge the impact of Crossrail on employment.

Members were concerned that certain areas, such as Pinkwell, had seen significant increases in property and rent prices. This had resulted in some renters, many of whom were subsidised by the Council, being evicted due to being unable to meet their rent obligations. In addition, many new investors in the area were choosing to keep their properties vacant, having only purchased properties in order to sell them on for a quick profit.

In response, Chris Mansfield confirmed that this was a result of the impending Crossrail, together with Central London's need for additional housing being pushed out to Greater London, and that some of these outcomes were inevitable. However, certain areas were being safeguarded from investment as the need for balance of homes vs. workforce areas was recognised. The proposed new SEGRO application, if approved, would include a requirement for a significant amount of affordable housing within the scheme. Such requirements were likely to be replicated in future schemes. In addition, many schemes were now required to be mixed-use, to provide residential, business and community facilities.

The issue of businesses requiring skilled workforces being replaced by comparatively lower skilled industries such as bars and restaurants was raised. Members inquired as to what Hillingdon was doing to promote industries requiring a highly skilled workforce.

Mr Cramb confirmed that whilst Hayes had experienced a change in its employment makeup form the manufacturing heyday of the 1960S there were examples of Hayes based high tech companies requiring a highly qualified workforce. The new Rackspace development and the Central Research Laboratory on the Old Vinyl factory site would employ a workforce that would be well above entry level, and the Council was supporting similar schemes from U+I Group and other organisations to bring the manufacturing industry back to the area. Evidence of this could be seen from the development of the Old Vinyl site, and it was expected that this development would attract further similar investment moving forward.

Members sought clarity on whether there was sufficient provision for community services such as GPs and schools to cope with the increased residential developments within the area. It was confirmed that research was being undertaken to identify the infrastructure needed to support services such as public health, schools, and public transport, and officers were confident that service demand could be accommodated. Future planning applications would also be requested to include Section 106 contributions to mitigate any negative impact of their development.

RESOLVED:  That the report be noted.