Brent Cross West is the first mainline station to open in London in over a decade. Barnet is the first local authority in England to deliver a rail infrastructure project, securing £419m of central government funding for the realisation of a 650sqm site with four platforms. The station acts as a gateway to Brent Cross Town, the 73ha, £8bn net zero neighbourhood being delivered in partnership with Related Argent.

Who is on the project team? (designer, consultants, etc)

Project Manager: Mace

Main contractor: Volker FitzPatrick 

Architects Main Station: Engineering professional services consultancy WSP with architects Chapman Taylor 

Joint development partner of The Arbour: Related Argent 

Architects of The Arbour: Studio Egret West and shedkm 

Executive Architect of The Arbour: Chapman Taylor 

Structural engineer: Heyne Tillett Steel 

Landscape consultant: Gillespies 

M&E consultant: Atelier Ten

QS: Faithful + Gould (now Atkins Realis) 

Project Manager of The Arbour – Gardiner & Theobald 

Fire consultants: OFR • Health and Safety Consultant: Projects Four Safety

Acoustic consultant: Sandy Brown

Approved building inspector: MLM

Describe the context of this project and its neighbourhood and the community it serves?

Councils don’t usually build train stations. Barnet Council is different. In December 2023 we welcomed passengers to Brent Cross West – the first mainline station to open in London in over a decade. Barnet Council is one of the first local authorities in England to deliver a rail infrastructure project, it secured £419 million of central government funding to allow Brent Cross West to be delivered. Its completion marks the latest and most significant milestone in the Brent Cross Cricklewood Regeneration Programme, which is one of the most ambitious redevelopment schemes in Europe. Project managed by Mace, and constructed by VolkerFitzpatrick, Brent Cross West station is of the most unique railway projects completed in recent years and plays a vital role in unlocking the wider regeneration of the area. The station is 7,000 square ft and 16 metres tall with four platforms. Architecturally the steelwork and canopies are a unique design feature of the main station, while 40,000 handmade bricks on the western entrance provide the structural wall. A significant feature of the new station is the highly sustainable, glulam timber-structured eastern entrance ‘The Arbour’. It is the gateway to Brent Cross Town the 180-acre, £8bn net zero park town that is being delivered in partnership between Barnet Council and Related Argent. In future the new neighbourhood will provide 6,700 new homes, create 25,000 jobs, and provide retail, leisure and community facilities within what has historically been an underused, predominantly industrial area. 

Describe the infrastructure project including its purpose and motivation. How does it contribute to the wider place and the community it serves?

Brent Cross West was built to serve the future Brent Cross Town development. For existing residents, the new station provides better connectivity and a more sustainable way to travel, while the size and scale of the project caters for the future increase in local population. By providing local infrastructure first in this ambitious regeneration scheme, it makes it more attractive to investors and potential residential and office occupiers, while also benefiting the existing community. The Arbour has been creatively designed to, in future, connect directly to Brent Cross Town’s first office buildings and new civic space, with its timber frame developed to sit comfortably between two buildings. Architecturally, it is also a visual landmark for the area. The Arbour is home to a huge piece of temporary public art by celebrated Barnet-raised artist Giles Round, which covers 250 square metres. It is complemented by hanging planters and extensive planting, which set the tone for the future development and its green, net zero carbon ambitions. The station’s new public bridge, and vast concourse, also physically connects existing communities from the western and eastern sides of the railway line. As well as making the station accessible to a wider catchment area it makes it much safer and easier for people to get around. Now operational, we’ll work with residents on activating the space, with options for more public art, a library or small businesses all being considered to foster a sense of community ownership.

How has your initiative improved connectivity to, or within, the place?

Brent Cross West plays a huge role in improving pedestrian and transport connectivity in the area, encouraging new, sustainable ways to travel around Barnet and beyond. For residents, the station provides better local connectivity, with a new overbridge providing access across this part of the Midland Main Line for the first time in 150 years. Trains connect Brent Cross to central London in as little as 12 minutes with up to eight trains an hour at peak times and connections to Luton Airport and Elizabeth Line services. The station has been designed to be able to accommodate the West London Orbital (WLO) line in future and provide additional cross-London services. New TfL bus services on both sides further improve connectivity and travel options. At ground floor level plenty of bike storage is provided, and cycle gullies built into the design, along with improved walking and cycling routes from the station to the wider area. Accessibility has been key a key consideration for our teams who worked closely with the independent Consultative Access Forum throughout design and build. Lifts and escalators on both entrances provide step-free access from platform to street level. Tactile walkways with handrail signage help those with visual impairment navigate and there is seating for those that need it. The Arbour, which in future will welcome most of Brent Cross West’s visitors, has been designed to offer a seamless journey, with stairs and escalators directly in front of the overbridge providing an intuitive, welcoming route.