The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has approved plans for new flats to be built around Wembley Stadium, despite concerns of the security of the Royal Box, which will be overlooked by the proposed tower blocks.

For nearly two decades, Brent Council have been regenerating the Wembley area, in a bid to improve life for those living and working in the shadow of the world-wide known stadium, and to attract more tourism to the area. In November 2002, Brent unveiled their ‘Vision for a new Wembley’, with the stadium at the core of its plans. Since then, over £70m has been invested in upgrading roads, rail, and pedestrian routes to ensure that it the area as well as local businesses can cope with the masses of fans on matchday. Also, part of the plan has been new housing, and over the past decade, many blocks have been springing up around the stadium.

The most recent plan for housing blocks around the stadium has just been given the go ahead by the Mayor, but there are concerns for security regarding the stadium, and especially the Royal Box, which houses Royalty and stars of the screen and stage. For example, it seated The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince George during the Euro 2020 final, and is where the victorious team go to collect their trophy when a final of a major tournament is held a Wembley, such as the FA Cup Final. The proposed tower blocks, of 555 homes, would look over this part of the stadium. The public as well as the Met Police and FA voiced their concerns about this, but Brent Council said that the Met and FA were both ‘comfortable’ with the plans now.

Those who voted against the plans also had problems with the pricing, as the scheme was meant to offer more affordable housing, but so far, the affordability hasn’t changed, especially with even higher levels of inflation on the horizon.