Kilburn town centre 

Kilburn is one of London’s 34 major town centres and a priority town centre for Brent.

The town centre runs for a mile along the shared Kilburn High Road with the western side in Brent, eastern side in Camden and a small southern stretch extending into Westminster. There is also a Brent spur along Willesden Lane.

Kilburn has around 400 shops of which a quarter are national chains. Kilburn is widely recognised for its bustling evening economy and is home to the Kiln, an independent award-winning theatre and cinema, a range of acclaimed shops, pubs and restaurants, a local market, and the iconic Grade II* listed art deco Gaumont State Cinema, now a place of worship.

One Kilburn partnership

Since 2021, Brent and Camden Councils have been working collaboratively with aligned ambitions across Kilburn High Road. This includes bringing forward a range of projects to support both sides of the road. Our plans for the town centre are being co-designed through a new One Kilburn partnership that brings local people together and empowers them to develop a shared approach to improving the area.

One Kilburn is an alliance of local businesses, residents, council officers and community partners across the Kilburn boundary. It is where we support dialogue and collaboration to turn our ideas for improving Kilburn into practical projects that deliver positive change. Find out about this work and get involved.

What we want for Kilburn

We want:

• Kilburn to serve its diverse communities as a thriving hub for shopping, business, culture, leisure and community uses
• to strengthen Kilburn’s cultural and historic identity and develop a stronger local offer whilst protecting retail and supporting it as a bustling night time destination
• to reduce traffic dominance along Kilburn High Road, deliver public realm improvements and make Kilburn visually appealing, cleaner, safer and more welcoming
• to make the town centre more inviting with activities that increase footfall and customers for our businesses.

Recovery support

Since 2022, we have supported Kilburn’s recovery from the pandemic using our business support funds. We have spent over £250,000 on projects that have improved the town and directly supported 60 of our local businesses, whilst building One Kilburn with Camden alongside.

Our projects include:

• providing hardship grants to 23 local businesses, which has helped 87 per cent of them to survive the pandemic
• delivering a month-long Kilburn Fringe music festival, attracting fresh customers to our hospitality businesses along the ‘Music Mile’ Kilburn is historically famous for
• introducing new waste bins throughout the town to provide uniform street furniture and increase local recycling capacity
• providing digital skills training and green energy audits to support 15 businesses
• providing bespoke shutter art for seven businesses to give them a stronger identify and deter graffiti and tagging
• delivering a Christmas event to boost seasonal trade for the High Road
• delivering lighting improvements outside Kilburn station to make our main gateway to the area safer.

Our 2024 projects

• We worked with Kilburn Older Voices Exchange (KOVE) and local businesses to develop a free community toilet scheme to support people with additional needs to use the town.
• We partnered with Camden to deliver the Light Up Kilburn arts festival to activate and illuminate the High Road.
• Jointly with Camden we are working to deliver a public mural within the town centre. Find out more.
• We are delivering a shopfront improvement scheme for a range of businesses.

Get in touch

To find out more about our work, contact the Town Centre Manager: richard.hay1@brent.gov.uk

Kilburn High Road is an important local town centre and is designated as one of 35 ‘major centres’ in the Mayor’s London Plan. Both large retailers and small independents all help to create Kilburn’s character, and offer a wide range of goods and services to local residents as well as to evening visitors to the restaurants and other attractions.

What we have planned

Feedback from residents and businesses suggests that using the high road can be an unpleasant experience, and has a tired appearance. This affects local businesses and the economic viability of the high road as a shopping street.

Therefore Brent Council and Camden Council are working collaboratively to transform the high road and to improve the appearance and character of Kilburn High Road. We want to reduce the dominance of traffic and to create a place that people want to spend more time in and supporting local businesses. The current planned works is between Christchurch Avenue and Dyne Road on the Brent side, and Maygrove Road and Palmerston Road on the Camden side.

What will change

1. Footway improvements – The footways will be re-paved using high-quality paving, the new robust paving will be laid in three contrasting colours (different shades of grey) which will significantly improve the look, feel and attractiveness of Kilburn High Road.
2. Tree planting – New trees will be planted to help improve air quality and boost biodiversity. Trees also provide shade and have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing. It may be necessary to remove some existing unhealthy trees on instruction from our specialist tree officer.
3. Street lighting – The existing street lights will be replaced with modern lampposts. Uplighters will also be installed around all of the trees, to help create creating a safe and welcoming environment. The new lampposts will provide excellent lighting for both the footways and roads.
4. Road resurfacing – Small section of the road along the kerbline on Kilburn High Road will be resurfaced to allow better drainage.
5. Cycle parking and other street furniture - new cycle parking will be provided to enable and encourage sustainable travel. New seating will also be introduced.
6. A new 20mph speed limit will also be introduced to reduce vehicle speeds and improve road safety for vulnerable road users.

When will the works take place?

The construction works are planned to commence at the end of March 2024, with the aim to complete by the end of July 2024.

Here is the current planned works programme for Kilburn High Road.

The scheme is scheduled for practical completion by the end of July, although we will continue to work on elements that should not majorly affect highway use beyond this date. These elements include snagging, electrical works, extra-large sign replacement and road-marking. The exception being carriageway resurfacing and the works across the side road which will cause some unavoidable disruption.

We will be providing regular updates to all residents and businesses in the immediate area throughout implementation.

What impact will these works have?

There will be some traffic delays and sections of the footways will be closed. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We will do our best to keep any disturbance to a minimum.

Please bear with us. We are confident that once these works are completed, Kilburn High Road will be a modern and attractive high street for our residents and traders.

More information

To get in touch with any questions or concerns about the scheme please email healthystreets&parking@brent.gov.uk or call 0208 937 5230. For construction related queries please email the Public Liaison Officer - Michael Heffernan at Michael.heffernan@gwhighways.co.uk or call 07958 597 362.