North London Matalan tipped for £115m BTR scheme

Developer Ziser London has lodged plans for a £115m build-to-rent scheme to replace the Matalan at Cricklewood Broadway. Ziser has submitted a planning application to Brent Council to demolish the 34,211 sq ft Matalan store and replace it with a residential-led scheme. Proposals for the 238-home BTR development include 226 private flats and 12 affordable rented flats, equating to 5% affordable housing, in up to nine-storey towers. Plans include ground floor commercial space, creation of a new street, and communal amenity space for residents. It is the latest in a string of retail park to resi schemes in the outer London boroughs, with investors seeking rental opportunities at scale, in well-connected locations. The development is just half a mile from Montreaux’s 1,000-home mixed-tenure scheme on the B&Q site at Cricklewood Park. In 2016, Cadbury Schweppes Pension Fund instructed CBRE to sell the 2.3-acre site, seeking offers in excess of £13.9m, with indicative plans for 273 flats. It sold later that year for £22m to Sentinel Securities. Matalan’s lease expires in 2020. Brent Council’s local plan identified the site and its neighbouring Wickes store for potential residential schemes, with capacity for around 380 homes across 5.6 acres. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette