JRL’s £68m Argenta House contract: design, phasing and risk notes for engineers
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Clarion Housing Group has let a £68.35m contract to JRL Group to deliver the Argenta House scheme at Stonebridge Park, comprising 27- and 30-storey towers with 180 homes for social rent and shared ownership opposite Stonebridge Park Station in Brent. The project, designed by Assael Architecture and now 100% affordable, replaces an earlier 24–26-storey, 130–141 unit consent that stalled when Henry Construction entered administration nine months after starting on site. Clarion, having acquired full ownership from the Latimer–Cervidae JV, plans to start construction in March 2026 with completion in early 2030, alongside public realm and connectivity upgrades.
Technical Brief
- Programme spans c.4 years on site, with a March 2026 start and early‑2030 completion target.
- Scheme evolution from 24 to 26 to 27/30 storeys implies multiple structural re‑design cycles and uplift in vertical load demand.
- Henry Construction’s administration after nine months on site leaves JRL inheriting a partially progressed, stalled high‑rise site.
- 100% affordable tenure mix and more family-sized units will drive specific flat layouts, cores and services stacking.
- Location directly opposite Stonebridge Park Station constrains logistics, crane positioning and temporary works around live transport infrastructure.
- Public realm and connectivity upgrades imply additional civils scope: hard landscaping, drainage tie‑ins and pedestrian link improvements.
Our Take
Within the 673 Infrastructure stories in our database, relatively few London Borough of Brent schemes combine 100% affordable tenure with 27–30 storey towers, signalling that Argenta House is positioned at the more intensive, high-rise end of affordable delivery in the capital.
The shift from the originally consented 130 units to 180 affordable homes on the Argenta House site suggests Clarion Housing Group is using the redesign window created by Henry Construction’s administration to push density and tenure mix in a way that may become a template for other stalled London projects.
A March 2026 start and early 2030 completion for this west London build indicates a long pre-construction and delivery window, which contractors like JRL Group will need to manage carefully against potential changes in Brent planning policy and construction cost inflation over the next five years.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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