Campaigners who lost the battle to block the Brent Cross Regeneration Scheme are “looking to the future” as the council searches for a developer.

Barnet Borough Council has launched a search for a partner to build 7,500 new homes and develop 450,000sq m of retail space on the brownfield site to the south of the North Circular Road.

The proposals to rebuild Brent Cross Shopping Centre were given planning permission in 2010 but amendments to the application by developers Hammerson and Standard Life were approved in January.

Under the plans, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, in Prince Charles Drive, Hendon, will be transformed into the “finest centre in Britain”.

The first stage of the development will see 2,000 new homes built to the south of a new pedestrian bridge on the A406, known as the Living Bridge.

Lia Collacicco, who fought against the plans, said: “It’s inevitable, this was always going to happen but now all we can do is look to the future.

“We’ll be pushing for the best types of housing and the best types of public transport here.

“I hope these homes to go people who will actually be able to afford them.”

Work on rebuilding the shopping centre is set to begin in 2016. When complete, the new centre could create up to 20,000 new jobs.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has also voiced his support for the plans, which will include a new mainline railway station at Cricklewood.

Councillor Richard Cornelius, leader of Barnet Council, said: “We do not intend to ‘take the money and run’. It is important to this council that we create a living, thriving neighbourhood with a real sense of place.

“We want to create a new town centre that will set the standard for developing successful new neighbourhoods in London, and we are looking for a developer with the ability to deliver that vision.”