Funding for Policing Demanded from Asda Development
Park Royal scheme would put 'unacceptable pressure' on budget
A visualisation of Asda's plan for the Park Royal site. Picture: Asda
April 15, 2025
A demand has been made that the Metropolitan Police be given extra funding as a condition of it agreeing to the massive development on the Asda site in Park Royal.
A letter written by Jonathan Boulton, the Head of Estate Strategy & Engagement at the Mayor's Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) to the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), which is the planning authority for the site, says that the building of around 1,600 flats on the 60,000 sq ft site would put ‘unacceptable pressure’ on the Met’s available resources.
MOPAC is a body led by the Mayor which monitors the Met and allocates funding for crime reduction initiatives.
Mr Boulton continues that it would formally object to the application if additional funding of £310,000 for policing wasn’t provided as a condition of planning approval. He also wants 1,600 sq ft to be allocated to the police for a base at a “highly visible location in the “heart of the new community”, in the planned new town centre.
The letter states, “Without the necessary contribution the development will be unacceptable in planning terms and permission should not be granted.
“The lack of capacity in existing infrastructure to accommodate the population growth and associated demands occasioned by the development means that it is necessary for the developer of the site to provide a contribution so the situation might be remedied.
“Without the necessary contribution to meet police needs there is a formal objection to the development on sustainability grounds and because the development is unacceptable without the necessary contribution.”
The allocation of funds from developers for policing is not unprecedented and Mr Boulton says that the police has “been successful elsewhere in London in securing financial contributions”.
The letter, which is contained in a pre-planning report commissioned by the OPDC, concerning the issue of childcare places in the area, was first highlighted in a report in the Daily Telegraph. Barratt Redrow, Asda and the OPDC declined to comment. The Metropolitan Police did not respond to requests for comment from the newspaper.
The proposed development which could include tower blocks up to 35 storeys high and be home to over 4,000 new residents is still at the early stage of the planning process with no planning application yet submitted. Asda has signalled its intention to redevelop the existing store with its large car park and is working with housing developer Barratt Redrow to bring forward designs.
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