The neighbourhood of South Wembley is excellently connected in terms of transport, and has one of the richest, most diverse ranges of commercial and public amenities in the local area. The locality’s population, as is consistent with neighbouring Wembley and Harrow, is diverse and multicultural. Ealing Road not only offers an excellent selection of supermarkets and essential services such as Ealing Road Library, Alperton Post Office and a number of banks, it is also a cultural centre and key destination for the local community. Reflecting its rich cultural and religious diversity, a number of religious places of worship can also be found on Ealing Road: including Wembley Central Mosque, Ealing Road Methodist Church and Wembley Prayer Centre. The cultural diversity is represented further in the diverse range of local restaurants, cafes and confectionary shops which provide ample choice in the locality. Aside from the great local benefits of Ealing Road, the much-loved One Tree Hill Recreation Ground to the east of the neighbourhood area provides open green space and a perfect spot for families, as it has both a children’s playground and small wildlife area.

The historic roots of the Wembley area were established in the medieval period. Originally called ‘Wembalea’ which means ‘Wemba’s clearing’, it was by 1212 considered a ‘township’. Nevertheless, it did not grow significantly until the end of the 19th century, after the arrival of the railways in the mid-1800’s and alongside a rush of economic growth in the west London suburb. The growth of the area really compounded in the early-20th century, when nearby Wembley Park welcomed the British Empire Exhibition, which resulted in the building of the now-famous Wembley Stadium (although the stadium has now been completely rebuilt!) Like most of north west London, The Wembley area had a sizeable manufacturing industry, but as was the case across the whole of London this was in decline by the 1980’s. It is the waves of immigration to the Wembley area that perhaps best define its most recent development: from the 1960’s onwards, immigration to west London saw the growth of a predominantly South Asian population. This trend has not subsided, extending into the 20th century, and welcoming immigration from a wider range of African and European countries too. The diverse history of the area is represented today by census data, which recorded that the majority of residents were Asian, and the largest single religion was Hinduism.

The area, as has already been noted, is home to a culturally diverse and vibrant community. This is something which is reflected in the architecture of the religious buildings which sit along Ealing Road: most famously the Shri Sanatan Hindu Mandir ‘Wembley Temple’ which is impressive in its scale and opulence.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with busy or popular high streets in London, there can sometimes be problems with congestion and traffic build up along Ealing Road, and there have been a few recorded instances of crime in the last few years. However, there is quite a low-rate of crime in the area, and the bustling, lively character of the area is set to only increase with the regeneration and investment which has recently been flooding into the area. Commitment to reviving the wider area is confirmed in the ‘Vision’ document produced by Brent council, which outlines the ‘great things happening in Alperton today’. Councillor Ann John from Brent Council confirmed the commitment of the local authority to this vision, observing how ‘Brent Council wants to see Alperton transformed into a place where people choose to live, work and invest’ in line with the wider regeneration of the area.

The neighbourhood area has always been popular with those looking to settle down, and those who commute into central London. As the area is already quite densely built up, Brent Council mostly see applications for small-scale residential extensions and the occasional new dwelling. However, local authorities across West London have picked up on the demand for improved transportation to better connect west and north London. The new West London Orbital railway, which was originally posed over 10 years ago, has recently been pushed back into the spotlight, with funding options being searched for as of 2021. In the light of other major infrastructural developments such as HS2 and Crossrail which will pass through the Brent area, the WLO would link a variety of regeneration sites across west London, including Wembley, Park Royal and Brent Cross without the need to travel via central London. At the moment TfL give the late 2020’s as a potential start date.

The neighbourhood also borders the 85-acre Wembley Park development, which is well underway, and with 10.3 million square feet of mixed development is one of Europe’s largest regeneration projects. 3,000 homes have already been completed, and it is the largest single-site purpose-built Build to Rent development anywhere in the UK, with an additional 5,500 homes still to be built. The project has already brought new community hubs, entertainment venues like Boxpark, art installations and open spaces, including the new 7 acre Union Park. With over £2.5bn already invested in the area, there’s much more slated to come, with the Quintain-led development scheduled to complete in 2027, bringing with it over 8,000 new jobs. The immediate area has also seen its own fair share of projects being part of the Alperton Growth Area. Completed in 2022, the 27-storey Waterline residential mixed-use development has brought 271 apartments to the neighbourhood, as well as office space, a supermarket and a café. Alperton Yard is also being built on Ealing Road, with an additional 461 homes promised by 2025.