Oriental City - Proposed Redevelopment

Proposed Redevelopment

In November 2006, Oriental City was bought out by the developer Development Securities who planned to demolish the centre and replace it with a B&Q, a housing development and a primary school. The developers stated that there would be provisions for the current tenants of Oriental City to continue in the new development; however, the tenants objected to this, owing to the lack of consultation. Tenants also noted that the complex took up to 9 years to complete, and whilst Development Securities claimed any redevelopment would take 3 years, most tenants did not believe they could survive the temporary relocation of their businesses.

Aside from business considerations, the East Asian community feared any redevelopment would mean the loss of an important community focal point. The current tenants shut their businesses for a day to protest to the council at Brent Town Hall on 21 November 2006 feeling that they had been treated like 'second class citizens'. The tenants' plight was backed by a long-time visitor of the Centre, ex-Arsenal football player Ian Wright, who met the then London Mayor Ken Livingstone's planning officials in early December 2006 to object to the redevelopment plans.

In February 2007, the Chinese Consul-General wrote to London's mayor to express his "deep concern" about the project, calling for the proposal to be modified. This matter generated so much attention that it featured on an episode of Inside Out (London) broadcast on 23 March 2007 where Liu was featured. Finally, after a petition gathered several thousand signatures, in June 2007 it was announced that the campaign had been successful and Oriental City would remain open until at least May 2008.

Staff at Oriental City were told to close their businesses for good by 7:00 pm on Sunday 1 June 2008. Business activity was above usual during the day as thousands of people flocked to see Oriental City for the last time. Many shops had drastically reduced prices and bargains to tempt shoppers, with one shop even advertising a Buy One Get Two Free offer. The food court closed at 6:30 PM, followed shortly by other retailers in the complex before the doors were finally closed for the last time at 7:00 PM.

Some former occupants of Oriental City have reopened in new locations:

• Utsuwa-no-Yakata reopened under the new name Doki Ltd. at Pacific Plaza, Unit 16, the Junction, Wembley Retail Park, Engineers Way, Wembley HA9 0EG near Wembley Arena. This location has also closed down, in April 2011. They have since reopened in Harrow Weald, at 207 High Road, HA3 5EE. Tel. 020 8861 4277. Website: http://www.dokiltd.co.uk
• The original Oriental City Supermarket reopened at a new location near Whiteley's in Queensway, Bayswater (26 Queensway

Bayswater, London W2 3RX)

• The Hamazaki Bakery announced that they were moving to 82 Totteridge Lane, N20 8GQ near Totteridge and Whetstone tube station.
• Another Japanese bakery called Tetote Factory, selling very similar products to Hamazaki Bakery, opened on December 5th 2009 at Pacific Plaza, Wembley (as above, now closed).
• The Koreana (former Oriental City Koreana) open take-away come restaurant is at 32 Headstone Drive, Harrow HA3 5QJ.
• Feringgi Bay (formerly Oriental Garden) has opened close to Oriental City in the Hyde, Colindale (255 Edgware Road, NW9 6LU, next to Barclays Bank.
• Puji Puji (formerly the satay stall outside the Centre & next to the car park) has opened as a restaurant in Islington (122 Balls Pond Road, London, N1 4AE).
• Taste Malaysia (formerly the Roti Canai stall) has opened as a cafe in Willesden (32 High Road, Willesden Green, NW10 2QD).
• Wonderful Patisserie has opened a large new shop with cafe / restaurant on the ground floor of Hyde House, next to Homebase, on the Edgware Road at West Hendon, not far from Oriental City.

Since the closure, it has emerged that Development Securities were no longer planning to develop the site themselves. On July 31st 2008 they sold the site to a new developer, B & S Homes, for £68 million. The purchasers paid a £16 million deposit but were unable to find the £52 million required to complete their purchase. Their deposit has been lost, the building remains in the hands of Development Securities, and further progress in the prevailing economic climate looks unlikely. The building remains boarded up and derelict.

From early 2009, there was much talk amongst former tenants of a proposal to reopen the doors of Oriental City in its previous form later that year. Discussions were understood to be taking place between the owners and former tenants, and any definite proposals will appear here in due course. In February 2010, former tenants of Oriental City held a protest at the site over the continued closure of the centre. A campaign to re-open the centre was initiated. It has been reported that Morrison's, the supermarket chain, is interested in developing the site.(Kilburn Times, 1 March 2012)