THE boss of a threatened Edgware Road store says the Brent Cross Cricklewood developers have “vastly underestimated” the cost of acquiring his business.

Plans to redevelop the huge shopping complex to include new homes and businesses would see an incinerator built on the Bestway cash and carry store, despite objections from the owners.

If developers cannot reach a private sale agreement with the owners they will be forced to seek a compulsory purchase, should Barnet Council give the scheme the green light next Wednesday.

Bestway director Dawood Pervez said: “The development partners do not know how profitable a site this is for us and therefore how high the compensation package would be under the law relating to compulsory purchase.

“We believe it is likely that they have vastly underestimated the cost of acquiring our business and this isn’t mentioned anywhere in the figures released by the developer.

“Barnet Council already has an existing waste site with rail links. We believe that the development partners want to move this across the railway line because it simply makes them more money.”

Bestway has joined the newly formed coalition of almost 20 residents' and campaign groups calling for a public inquiry into the project.

Jonathan Joseph of the Brent Cross Cricklewood Development Partners said the group would try to negotiate a private sale before turning to a compulsory purchase order to secure land, which would happen through the council.

He added: “Dawood Pervez's statement about the value of his property and his belief that we have underestimated it is intriguing, as we have not yet engaged with any seriousness on the matter of the acquisition of the site.

“ It has not been appropriate yet. We are already in the early stages of discussing relocation ideas with Bestway, because our priority is to help them to successfully relocate and to continue the life of this branch of their wider business.

“Activity on this front will speed up considerably as the early stages of the development firm up.

“There is no basis in logic to link the acquisition of the Bestway site with our figures relating to the community and infrastructure benefits arising from the Brent Cross Cricklewood development.”