The sale of a Dudden Hill college campus involves different organisations “swapping” locations and Brent Council offering a multi-million pound loan to make it all happen.
Deals have been struck in the boardrooms of United Colleges, regeneration giant Quintain, housing association Network Homes and Brent Council - which agreed a "high risk" £50m bridging loan at a meeting on July 15 that allows the whole project to unfold.
United Colleges, the organisation set up following the merger of the College of North West London and City of Westminster College in 2017, is selling its site in Dudden Hill Lane, but cannot do so until students have moved to its proposed new building.
The college is planning a new £106m state-of-the-art campus in Fulton Road, currently owned by Network Homes.
The housing association has, in turn, signed a lease with Quintain for office space by the London Designer Outlet half a mile south, and will move in early next year.
United Colleges is also selling its campus in Wembley Park Drive, a stone's throw from Wembley Park Tube station and on the edge of Quintain's redeveloped Wembley Park. Quintain said it was not in a position to comment on whether it would be seeking to obtain the site.
This paper also asked Network Homes if it was going to enter a bid for the Dudden Hill land, which according to the council will be redeveloped with up to 1,750 homes.
A spokesperson for Network Homes added: "Network Homes is always looking for new sites to develop in our key areas to help increase the number of affordable homes for local people. However, we wouldn't publicly comment on any potential upcoming site bids."
United Colleges said: "The new campus will ultimately be funded from the sale of the College's Dudden Hill and Wembley sites which will be vacated when the new campus is ready to open, currently estimated at 2023."
Brent Council leader Cllr Muhammed Butt said the "bridging loan" would "help safeguard the future of high quality further education in Brent".
He added: "We're keen to retain such a facility in the borough that provides skills-based training for our residents. The college remaining in Brent will help to improve the lives, aspirations and ambitions of our young people, allowing them to access better-paid jobs and to inspire our young people to have a brighter future.
"The project will also contribute to the regeneration taking place in Brent, while providing around 1,750 much-needed homes."
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