Bradstowe House 'eyesore' on verge of sale (From Harrow Times)

Bradstowe House 'eyesore' in Harrow on verge of sale

5:50pm Wednesday 26th September 2012 in News Exclusive By David Hardiman, Reporter

The developer of an unfinished apartment block that has been an “eyesore” on the Harrow skyline for more than four years is trying to sell it, the Harrow Times can reveal.

The ten-storey Bradstowe House development, in Greenhill Way, has remained a concrete shell since mid-2008 when recession meant developer Comer Homes stopped construction on the 144-apartment building.

The company told the Harrow Times in May 2009 that it would shortly be resuming work, but no further construction has took place and the half-finished building has since been covered in graffiti.

Our investigation has discovered that the firm has approached Harrow Council with revised plans after failing to pay approximately £2million in fees agreed for affordable housing when planning permission was granted in 2005, but has failed to reach an agreement and is now seeking the sale of the land.

Director of planning at the council, Stephen Kelly, told the Harrow Times that he had held a series of meetings in the last two years with the owners to try and get the project restarted.

He said: “Whilst the outcomes of the meetings have been positive, the council does not have the power to force a private landowner to start building against their will.

“However, the potential change in ownership is a positive step forward, and the council is working with interested parties to ensure that work can start again as soon as possible.”

The managing director of Comer Homes, Brian Comer, said in 2009 that the company would resume construction as soon as markets improved, and the development’s website boasts that the site will be a “stunning contemporary landmark” offering one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

But Conservative leader Councillor Susan Hall labelled it “an eyesore and blot on the landscape of Harrow”.

She added: “It’s constantly covered in graffiti, which is the wrong image for Harrow, and every effort must be made to find someone to take over the development.”

Bradstowe House sits opposite another controversial development, Neptune Point, whose tenants have been forced to put up with broken lifts, key fobs, doors and windows just weeks after moving in the nine-storey block.

Harrow Council rejected plans for its construction, but Government planning inspector Richard Thomas approved it on appeal.

He agreed with the developer’s view that the building would complement Bradstowe House, and said “the proposed nine-storey block would signal the start of the retail experience for pedestrians entering the town centre from the west”.

Comer Homes has not responded to questions from the Harrow Times .