Mayor invites developer bids for 1,650-home Hendon scheme

Plans for the redevelopment of the site include the creation of a new neighbourhood with more than 1,650 homes as well as shops, a primary school and nursery, cycle routes and open green space.

The site has been occupied by the police training centre since 1934, however, the Mayor said in a statement that the Met Police currently only uses around of fifth of the site and that it was now considered "outdated, expensive and underused".

He said that the redevelopment was estimated to be able to halve the running costs at the site and free up revenue of up to £6 million each year.

The site will be the first major scheme to be procured through the London Development Panel which the Mayor set up to speed up the release of public land to accelerate the delivery of housing in the capital and boost the economy.

The Mayor said that any capital raised through the redevelopment would be used to fund a new "modern and fit-for-purpose" operations and training centre at a smaller part of the site.

The site has been identified in the London Borough of Barnet's area action plan for Colindale as an essential site for the regeneration of the area.

"This regeneration will create much needed jobs and homes to drive growth in a vital area of north London, as well as bringing schools and parks to a thriving new neighbourhood," said Johnson.

“The iconic Peel Centre has been at the heart of the Met for almost 80 years, and these proposals will cement Hendon’s future as one of the best police training grounds in the world. What’s more, it will drive down costs and cut waste in the Met’s estate budget, helping us to maintain officer numbers and keep London’s streets safe,” he said.

“We are undertaking the most significant transformation of the police estate in order to reduce running costs whilst investing in modern facilities that are fit for our officers, staff and the public,” said Metropolitan Police director of property services Jane Bond.