OPDC press releases
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2024
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for West London, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has announced a paid opportunity for local artists to participate in an exciting new publication – the Old Oak West Ideas Book.
OPDC is commissioning local artists, illustrators, designers, and creatives for an opportunity to create a series of artworks that will feature in the Old Oak West Ideas Book.
Old Oak West is a regeneration project within the OPDC area that aims to deliver an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable new urban district with new homes, jobs and facilities on land around the proposed Old Oak Common Station and beyond.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for West London, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), together with local residents, businesses and organisations, unveiled ten local projects, awarded funding as part of the Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ) at a celebration showcase event.
Held at Levant Cafe in Park Royal, the event exhibited a range of projects delivered by the community, using OPDC’s funding, with talks, film screenings and fantastic performances from Bollo Brook and Park Royal Nights.
In October 2022, OPDC launched an Open Call for Ideas in partnership with Ealing Council, to support the creative industry in the area and enable the wider community to access opportunities across the creative sector.
OPDC awarded nearly £200,000 in total across ten projects to deliver affordable community and creative workspaces, community outreach and events, skills, training and career development for young people, art installations, and media and music production.
2023
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for West London, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has today announced a new round of funding for its Small Grants Programme.
This exciting programme will provide £70,000 in total to support grass-roots initiatives. Community organisations can apply for grants between £1,000 and £7,000 to kick-start their projects in the OPDC area. This year, the programme is focussing on awarding funding to community-led projects that either support the cost of living crisis, work with young people or help to champion local diversity.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation, OPDC has been awarded £36 million from the government’s Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF) to harness waste heat from the cooling of several data centres.
The innovative project is the first of its kind to secure GHNF support and will provide low carbon heating captured from data centres into buildings. It forms part of a wider £65m award from the GHNF to five projects across the UK.
The network is located in the largest adopted Opportunity Area in London spanning three London Boroughs. Old Oak West, OPDC’s planned new development area, around the future Old Oak Common Station, will deliver over 9,000 homes and 250,000m2 of commercial development.
It is one of the UK’s largest and most important urban brownfield regeneration projects which includes the Old Oak HS2 and Elizabeth Line interchange. The development will have excellent connectivity for the thousands of new and affordable homes in the area and the new district heating network is key to achieving a zero carbon and sustainable new urban district.
The Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and the Berkeley Foundation today hosted a graduation ceremony for local participants of the Street Elite Programme.
Street Elite is a multi-award-winning programme delivered by The Change Foundation to support young people who have been impacted by crime, violence and inequality into secure education, employment or training opportunities.
OPDC’s employment and skills service, The Forge, partnered with the Berkeley Foundation to provide a total of £46,000 to fund the Street Elite programme in West London.
It saw 15 local young men living in estates in Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham aged between 17-25 attend a 14-week academy combining sports activities, training and skills geared towards gaining work.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal, OPDC has today announced the launch of the Loans for Small Businesses (The Loan Fund).
Funded by OPDC and the Mayor of London through the Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone, the Loan Fund will make affordable loan funding available to small businesses and workspace providers in the OPDC area.
The Loan Fund will make £350,000 available as part of the pilot phase to support new and existing Park Royal-based food manufacturing and creative businesses to expand their businesses, as well as supporting affordable workspace providers to expand their premises.
Through the Loan Fund, OPDC aims to support the creation of high quality, genuinely affordable workspaces and allow new and existing Park Royal businesses to grow and expand, helping to create more jobs and opportunities for local people in the area.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal, OPDC is excited to announce the first Park Royal Food Festival.
Held in partnership with Segro, City Harvest London and Loom Projects on Saturday 1 July, this one-day event will bring together an array of local food businesses to celebrate the vibrant food and culture of Park Royal.
The festival will celebrate and showcase the diverse communities and food businesses that make Park Royal, one of London’s largest industrial and manufacturing hubs, with the area home to more food businesses per square km than anywhere else in the capital.
With an exciting programme, events running throughout the day include gastronomic walking tours, talks, tastings and free food sampling, film screenings, cooking demonstrations, storytelling, and music.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal, OPDC is inviting the local community to two drop-in events to help shape the future of Old Oak West.
In June 2022, OPDC adopted its Local Plan, setting out a vision for the area for the next 20 years. Central to this will be a welcoming and lively district called Old Oak West, with affordable homes, jobs and local facilities, with the huge new HS2 interchange, Old Oak Common station at its heart.
Old Oak West is made up of land surrounding the new station, Willesden Junction and North Acton. The regeneration will focus on former industrial and brownfield sites, most of which are in public sector ownership.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for West London, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), together with local residents, unveiled a host of community-led projects at a showcase event for its Small Grants programme.
The programme, which funds community-led projects in Old Oak and Park Royal celebrating local people, heritage and culture, has awarded nearly £150,000 to 21 local community organisations, reaching 45,000 beneficiaries across West London.
The array of activities, all of which support communities in Brent, Ealing, and Hammersmith and Fulham, range from community newspapers, an A-Z of Park Royal, foodbanks, youth work, summer clubs, charity work, and projects that promote art, culture, heritage, sustainability, and intergenerational activities.
On Friday 12th May, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council celebrated the official launch of the Park Royal Open Access Workshop (POW) as part of the exciting programme of events for London Craft Week.
Funded by OPDC and Ealing Council through the Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone, the workshop provides affordable workspace for local creatives in Park Royal. It offers shared equipment and facilities, as well as flexible space to hold meetings, events, workshops, and activities.
The Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is holding a construction careers fair on 12 April at Brent Civic Centre to encourage local jobseekers to find work in the construction, development, and planning sectors.
The event will bring together OPDC’s jobs brokerage service, The Forge@ParkRoyal (The Forge), with more than 25 leading employers from across construction, development and civil engineering sectors including HS2, Laing O’Rourke, The Berkeley Group and Balfour Beatty to showcase their current job opportunities.
From apprenticeships to paid work placements, local jobseekers can find out more about careers in development and construction, apply for jobs and meet employers directly.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation, OPDC, has appointed Homes England’s Gareth Blacker to a new senior role of Executive Director of Delivery. This comes as OPDC gears up its regeneration plans in the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area.
In the new post, Gareth will be responsible for leading OPDC’s growing delivery role to bring forward 25,000 new and affordable homes and 56,000 new jobs in West London, set out in it’s recently adopted Local Plan.
Key to this will be working with Government to unlock and coordinate London’s largest brownfield development opportunity, Old Oak West, into a new, inclusive urban district, with High Speed 2’s Old Oak Common Station at its heart.
Gareth joins OPDC from Homes England, where he was Director of Strategic Development & Infrastructure working across major UK regeneration schemes including Bristol Temple Meads and Silvertown Quays.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council today announced ten successful projects who will receive funding as part of the Open Call for Ideas for the Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ).
The Mayor launched his Creative Enterprise Zones programme in 2018 and has invested £14m help areas across the capital to support artists and creative businesses, find permanent and affordable space to work, provide support to new creative businesses and improve access to creative sector skills and employment. The ground-breaking initiative has already established nearly 1,000 creative apprenticeships, training and work placements across London, and by 2025 will have increased new, permanent, affordable workspace by more than 65,000sqm.
The Open Call for Ideas was developed in partnership with Ealing Council to support the creative industry in the area and enable the wider community to access opportunities across the creative sector.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal (OPDC) invites everyone in the local community to a series of exciting of public engagement activities to help shape the future of Old Oak West.
In June 2022, OPDC adopted its Local Plan, setting out a vision for the area for the next 20 years. Central to this vision will be a welcoming and inclusive district called Old Oak West, an area stretching from Willesden Junction Station and North Acton with thousands of new and affordable homes, jobs, and local facilities, focused around the huge new High Speed 2 interchange, Old Oak Common station.
To ensure that the local community has the opportunity to have a say in the future of the area, OPDC will be holding a series of ‘Place Lab’ co-design workshops throughout March. These workshops will provide an opportunity for OPDC to listen to the local communities’ views and to explore how we can jointly create a new urban district that truly reflects local needs and aspirations.
2022
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has made three major new appointments to the Board and Planning Committee of his West London development corporation, responsible for delivering London’s largest development opportunity.
Matthew Carpen, Managing Director of Barking Riverside joins OPDC’s Board. Anne Ogundiya, Head of Development Management at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) and Sarah Coutts, Head of Design & Planning at Barking Riverside join OPDC’s Planning Committee.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council are excited to launch the Open Call for Ideas for the Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone (CEZ).
The aim of the Open Call for Ideas is to support the creative industry in the area and enable the wider community to access opportunities across the creative sector.
Developed in partnership with Ealing Council, over £100,000 of funding will be made
available to support the most creative and innovative ideas.
OPDC and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham have partnered with the Park Royal Business Group and Zipcar to offer businesses in Park Royal the opportunity to hire an electric van for free.
Once signed up and approved for the scheme, businesses can book the van using the free Zipcar app, access and drive it free of charge for business trips of up to 30 miles per trip. Businesses can hire the vans entirely free of charge until the end of March 2023.
Interested businesses must sign up via the Zipcar app here and are then free to use the van for as long as they need it.
Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, OPDC’s planned information drop-in events in September were postponed. We have now rescheduled these events for October and the updated dates are included below, we hope the community can join us for these re-scheduled events.
On Friday 23rd September, hundreds of artists, creatives and makers gathered to launch the Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, OPDC, and Ealing Council’s new Creative Enterprise Zone.
The Acton and Park Royal Creative Enterprise Zone unlocks unique opportunities for homegrown creative industries, artists and businesses by driving investment into the amazing creative talent that the area holds, as well as providing much needed funding to kick-start creative projects.
Unveiled by Deputy Mayor for Culture and Creative Industries, Justine Simons OBE, Friday’s event was a prominent moment in the Park Royal Design District’s celebration of the annual London Design Festival.
In view of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, OPDC’s September drop-in events have been postponed.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal (OPDC) has today announced an exciting programme of public engagement, inviting the community to help shape the future of Old Oak.
OPDC’s recently adopted Local Plan sets out a vision for the area for the next 20 years. Central to this will be a welcoming and lively district called Old Oak West, with affordable homes, jobs and local facilities, focused around the huge new HS2 interchange, Old Oak Common station.
To ensure that the local community has the opportunity to have a say in the future of the area, OPDC is holding co-design workshops, activities and site tours, due to begin in the autumn.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is recruiting for new members to join its Community Review Group.
The group is the first of its kind in the UK and members play an active role in ensuring that new developments serve the needs of the community both now, and in the future. Established in 2018 it enables local people to shape upcoming regeneration in Old Oak and Park Royal.
OPDC’s recently adopted Local Plan paves the way for a welcoming and inclusive urban district around the new HS2 and Elizabeth Line station at Old Oak Common, with new and affordable homes, a range of job opportunities for local people, public green spaces, and facilities. The Community Review Group will play an integral role in shaping the future of these developments, there has never been a more exciting time to become a member.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced the expansion of his Creative Enterprise Zones programme with an investment of £800,000 to support thousands of jobs and create affordable studio space across the capital.
Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing are to become the Mayor’s latest Creative Enterprise Zones, joining Croydon, Haringey, Hounslow, Lambeth, Lewisham, Hackney and Tower Hamlets, as well as Waltham Forest which is creating a new zone.
All of the zones are to receive a share of £800,000 which will help support 5,000 young Londoners to enter the creative sector and create more than 25,000 sqm of new, permanent, affordable workspace for the sector by 2025.
Today, the Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has adopted its Local Plan, a planning policy framework that paves the way for 25,500 new and affordable homes and 56,000 new jobs in the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area.
OPDC submitted the modified Local Plan earlier this year and, following extensive public consultation, has been given the green light by the Planning Inspector.
The Local Plan focuses development around High Speed 2’s Old Oak Common Station to create a lively and inclusive urban district with thousands of new and affordable homes, a wide range of job opportunities for local people, new public green space and community facilities.
The Plan sets out how the Mayor and OPDC will maximise the benefits of the unrivalled connectivity created by Old Oak Common Station, the only place where High Speed 2, Great Western mainline services and the newly opened Elizabeth Line will connect.
Construction starts today on the first two in a series of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation’s (OPDC) local improvement projects to make the spaces and places in Old Oak more welcoming, accessible and enjoyable for the community.
Supported by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, OPDC is making improvements to the public space in Willesden Junction Station and creating new and improved access to the Grand Union Canal at Old Oak Lane.
- Willesden Junction Station: improving the public space in and around the station with new landscaping, planting, benches, community noticeboards, signage and public art.
- Old Oak Lane towpath access: providing a new entrance and ramp with step-free access to the canal towpath for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles, as well as planting and landscaping.
Both projects were extensively shaped by views from the local community to ensure the plans best meet the needs of residents, businesses and visitors through surveys, drop-in exhibitions, co-design and online events.
Construction starts from the end of March 2022 and is due to be complete in July 2022. Work will take place between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
During the work, access to Willesden Junction Station will remain open at all times. The Grand Union Canal can be accessed from Old Oak Lane at the entrance next to the Collective and the towpath will remain open at all times.
The Pentecostal City Mission Church, long time occupier of 2 Scrubs Lane, Willesden, has been evicted by developers, Fruition Properties. The Mission is a registered Community Asset and operates a nursery, foodbank, dementia care and other local community services which leaves this vital community lifeline in jeopardy.
The Mayor’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), local MP Andy Slaughter, the GLA’s Culture at Risk team and other community groups have been campaigning to save the church and the services it provides to one of London’s most disadvantaged communities.
Fruition Properties, the developers who are looking to redevelop the site, sought planning permission in 2018. Critical to that permission was that Fruition secured replacement space for the Pentecostal City Mission Church and associated community services as part of the new development.
OPDC, as the local planning authority, has always been very clear that its planning policy requires the re-provision of community floorspace for the Pentecostal City Mission Church within any future scheme on the site.
It is understood that Fruition evicted without warning, on Wednesday 23rd March, entering the building at 7.30 in the morning and changing all the locks, leaving parents unable to drop off their children at the nursery and staff unable to retrieve personal belongings.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has appointed two seasoned regeneration and development experts to the board of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Aman Dalvi OBE and Jon Milward will join OPDC’s Board to help spearhead the delivery of tens of thousands of affordable homes and jobs in the capital’s largest brownfield development site. The new Old Oak Common interchange station, now well under construction, will bring High Speed 2, Elizabeth Line and Great Western services into the heart of the site, making it one of the best-connected locations in the UK and establishing a new urban district in west London.
Aman Dalvi, who worked in Park Royal for many years, is an experienced housing association Chief Executive and former Director of Planning and Development at London Borough of Tower Hamlets who has led multi-disciplinary teams covering housing development, management and finance. Aman has also delivered major inward investment into large regeneration schemes, including the Thames Gateway where he was the Chief Executive of Gateway to London.
He has served as a board member of the government’s former urban regeneration agency English Partnerships and the London Olympic Park Legacy Company and was awarded an OBE in 2000 for his services to housing. He currently chairs two housing associations, the London based Newlon Homes and Aspire Housing in the north west.
Jon Milward is a former Real Estate Equity Partner at Deloitte LLP, and has over 30 years expertise leading significant global and UK-wide planning and development projects across the private and public sector including major regeneration projects at Euston Station and the London Olympic Park.
He has acted as a trusted advisor to clients including HS2, Network Rail, University College London and the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, leading complex joint venture partnerships and major regeneration projects. In 2019, Jon started his own consultancy practice, Milward Associates Limited. He is also a Business Ambassador for Centrepoint, a charity for young homeless people in the UK.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council are seeking the views of people who live and work in North Acton to make its streets and spaces more enjoyable, connected, accessible and welcoming.
OPDC and the Council have secured £3.7 million from local developers to fund the improvements. They could include more plants and trees, better and varied lighting, benches and play areas, improvements to paths or the installation of public art, with the aim of encouraging more local people to use and enjoy the area.
OPDC and Ealing Council will deliver up to six short-term projects, brought forward in the next few years, as well as longer term projects to improve the street environment.
Input from local people is integral to shaping the plans. OPDC and Ealing Council invite residents, workers, businesses, landowners, community groups and visitors to North Acton to a public consultation to share ideas and suggestions.
2021
The Park Royal Design District will be London’s biggest new design district launched at the London Design Festival 2021.
Sponsored by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), City & Docklands and Imperial College London, the district will showcase an array of local artists, makers and community-led projects that celebrate the area’s rich heritage, diversity and creative talents.
From 24 to 26 September, this underexplored part of the city will host an impressive programme of 40 open studios, four exhibitions, nine workshops, walking tours, pop-up shops and film screenings, open to the public, to shine a light on the area’s history and tell the stories of the people behind West London’s industrial powerhouse.
OPDC, the Mayor of London’s development corporation responsible for regenerating Old Oak and Park Royal, is showcasing projects and artworks that have been supported by its art, culture and heritage programme, the Great Place Scheme, designed to celebrate Park Royal’s past and present, to help shape its future.
This £3m investment, principally funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England, has commissioned 150 artists and local organisations, and funded 49 grassroots community projects with Small Grants of up to £5,000.
OPDC is bringing together this growing creative community for the capital’s annual Design Festival, and joining forces with a host of local artists, creatives and businesses, under the banner of Park Royal Design District.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has made two new appointments to Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC)’s Planning Committee.
Steve Quartermain CBE, the government’s former Chief Planner, and Gary Rice, who previously led development at Southwark Council, will join the committee with immediate effect, bringing additional senior level experience to support the Corporation’s statutory planning responsibilities.
OPDC is leading the planning and delivery of London’s largest regeneration Opportunity Area with plans to build up to 25,000 new and affordable homes, and 56,000 jobs over the next two decades, with the High Speed Two interchange at Old Oak Common acting as the catalyst for change.
Today, the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) launches a seven-week public consultation on exciting changes to its Local Plan and invites everyone to have their say.
The Mayor’s Development Corporation submitted the modified Local Plan earlier this year and has now been given the green light by the Planning Inspector to embark on the next stage and consult the public.
Although much of the Local Plan hasn’t changed, OPDC is proposing to move development nearer to High Speed 2’s Old Oak Common Station with the potential to create a lively urban district with new and affordable homes, a wide range of job opportunities for local people, public space and facilities. The plan no longer proposes to bring forward housing in Old Oak North, instead protecting it as a place for employment.
The changes will support the delivery of tens of thousands of homes and over a million square meters of employment space, encouraging new businesses to the area and helping existing ones to grow.
OPDC is now asking the public for feedback on the proposed changes, before the Local Plan is adopted. The consultation runs from 17 May until 5 July 2021.
There is a range of ways to find out more, get involved and provide comments, with the first of five online consultation events taking place on 26 May. Members of the public can register for this and other events, as well as viewing the plans and providing feedback on a dedicated online consultation portal.
To date, OPDC has held extensive public consultation to develop its Local Plan with landowners, residents and businesses, holding 28 public events and receiving over 11,000 feedback responses.
Following this consultation, all feedback will be reviewed to finalise the Local Plan. It is expected that the Local Plan will be adopted before the end of 2021.
The Mayor’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has today submitted a revised draft Local Plan to support the construction of more than 25,000 new homes and bring tens of thousands of new jobs to the area with a focus on land around the HS2 station at Old Oak Common.
With the potential to build a major new urban centre and a wide range of homes, work and amenities, the new proposals set the scene for massive new investment that will fully exploit the unique connectivity offered by the new major transport hub, the only place where HS2, Elizabeth Line and Great Western Rail services meet.
Thousands of new homes are already being constructed, but the revised Plan will help to accelerate and consolidate the building of a new urban district with affordable homes, jobs, public space and local facilities, by moving the focus around the new Old Oak Common Station – much of which is owned by the public sector, mainly High Speed Two, Network Rail and the Department of Transport.
Existing businesses in Old Oak North will be protected by designating key sites for long term employment. It is expected to deliver a quarter of a million square metres of additional industrial space over the next twenty years, encouraging new businesses to the area and helping existing ones to grow.
OPDC has been working with local landowners to prepare these plans and will continue to work closely with its three London Boroughs (Ealing Hammersmith & Fulham and Brent), High Speed Two, the Department for Transport, Network Rail and the local community.
Alongside the revisions to its Local Plan, OPDC will shortly be submitting a bid to government for infrastructure funding support to drive forward regeneration, helping to fund new access roads, bridges and utilities.
The Plan will be considered by the Planning Inspector and the local community in a detailed consultation process over the coming months, and subject to the final views of the Inspector, is expected to be formally adopted by the end of 2021.
This is a press release issued by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council has won its bid to shift construction work for the new HS2 rail line away from homes and sensitive habitats in Wormwood Scrubs.
It means that heavy vehicles involved in the construction of the High Speed 2 rail line and the future Old Oak Common Station will now access Wormwood Scrubs via Old Oak Common Lane – thus reducing the impact on wildlife and the sensitive ecology of the Scrubs, as well as limiting disruption for local residents.
The proposal was approved on 23 February at a meeting of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation’s planning committee (OPDC). The OPDC is the Mayoral Development Corporation for the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, and as well as bringing forward regeneration, it is also a local planning authority.
Originally, access to the Scrubs was to be from Braybrook Street as approved by the HS2 Act. H&F Council objected to that and proposed a less damaging alternative route via Old Oak Common Lane.
Sir Stephen Waley-Cohen, Chair of the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs, spoke in support of H&F’s proposals setting out the significant importance and value of the Scrubs to residents and visitors. Sir Stephen also presented a petition signed by more than 5,000 residents and park visitors – gathered by the Friends of Wormwood Scrubs – in support of the proposal to shift the access route.
Cllr Sue Fennimore, Deputy Leader of H&F Council, said: “It is great news that HS2 can now use a less harmful route to access its works on Wormwood Scrubs.”
David Lunts, Chief Executive of OPDC, said: “The close collaboration between H&F Council, HS2, local residents and our planning team at OPDC has helped protect the cherished Scrubs, whilst preventing delays to the Old Oak Common Station and minimising disruption to those living nearby. We will continue to work closely with all parties to ensure the full reinstatement of the Scrubs once essential work is complete.”
Read the full press release on Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s website.
2020
The planning application for HS2’s west-London super hub, Old Oak Common, was approved by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) on 19 May 2020. The green light means that work can progress on building what will be the largest new railway station ever built in the UK. The station will have 14 platforms, a mix of six high speed and eight conventional service platforms, with a 850m long station box, with a volume to fit 6,300 Routemaster buses.
Liz Peace, Chair of OPDC said:
The approval of HS2’s Old Oak Common Station design marks a significant milestone in the delivery of this nationally important project. The new station will unlock a huge regeneration opportunity, bringing billions of pounds of investment into the local community and the wider UK economy.
Now, more so than ever, the delivery of new and affordable homes and jobs at Old Oak and Park Royal is needed to capitalise on the unrivalled connectivity that HS2 will bring. By working closely with key stakeholders and partners, including HS2, the local London Boroughs and Network Rail, while listening to and collaborating with local people, we can make sure these public benefits are realised.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has appointed Emma Williamson as its Director of Planning.
Bringing 25 years of industry experience, Emma will be joining OPDC in early August from the London Borough of Haringey, where she is currently Assistant Director of Planning, Building Standards and Sustainability, with a strong track record for securing planning for major strategic regeneration schemes, including Argent’s £500m Tottenham Hale development and Spurs’ Stadium redevelopment.
OPDC Chief Executive, David Lunts said:
Emma is an exceptionally talented and well-regarded planner with a great track record of delivering major regeneration schemes, and we are delighted to welcome her to the team. Just a few days ago, OPDC awarded planning consent for the new £1.3bn HS2 interchange station at Old Oak Common, so Emma’s arrival is perfectly timed. Her experience and energy will be a major boost in driving forward our plans for what is set to become London’s best-connected new urban district.
Emma Williamson said:
Joining OPDC at this key stage in the project is particularly exciting, with HS2’s Old Oak Common Station kickstarting regeneration across the OPDC area. As Director of Planning, I look forward to shaping and securing the corporation’s ambitious plans to deliver homes and jobs at scale in London’s biggest Opportunity Area.
The OPDC, working in partnership with the London Borough of Brent and the Canal & River Trust, is planning exciting improvements to the Grand Union Canal between Acton Lane and Steele Road.
The plans are being created in close collaboration with local residents and will include outdoor ‘pop-up’ recreational, work and leisure facilities, as well as new public space to bring life to the canal and support for a wide range of business and community activities.
Businesses and residents in West London are set to benefit from a new Employment and Skills Hub which has been set up with HS2 funding. The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has been successful in its bid to the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund, securing over a quarter of a million pounds.
The hub will help support West London businesses in difficult economic times and beyond, to provide stability and growth and to help businesses recruit, retain and develop a local, skilled workforce.
Five new places are up for grabs to join the group making local voices heard on major planning decisions, for one of London's most important regeneration projects.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is delighted to announce the appointment of David Lunts as its permanent Chief Executive Officer.
Since taking the role of OPDC’s Interim Chief Executive last year, David has been instrumental in driving the Corporation’s new approach for regeneration at Old Oak and Park Royal.
Currently Executive Director of Housing & Land for the Greater London Authority (GLA), David has spearheaded housing policy and delivery in national, regional and local government for over 20 years. He established and then led the GLA’s housing and land function, devolved to the Mayor of London in 2012. Since 2016, this team has delivered a record numbers of affordable homes for London every year. David has also overseen the Mayor’s London Housing Strategy, progressing major schemes at the Royal Docks, Barking Riverside and Greenwich Peninsula.
David’s permanent appointment to lead the Corporation comes at a crucial moment, with HS2’s Old Oak Common Station construction underway and OPDC’s overarching planning framework in its final stages of development. It provides the foundation for OPDC’s plans to drive the delivery of tens of thousands of affordable homes and jobs in one of London’s most important regeneration opportunities.
2019
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), has today welcomed the government’s decision to award £250m to kick-start development on the West London site.
The investment, from the government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, will be used to assemble land, design and build vital roads and utilities infrastructure. This will allow development of homes and businesses to begin at Old Oak North, close to the new transport ‘Superhub’ where the HS2 and the Elizabeth Line will meet.
Old Oak North is the first of six new neighbourhoods planned for the 650-hectare site. When complete, it is predicted that the entire redevelopment of Old Oak and Park Royal will deliver 25,500 new homes and 65,000 new jobs.
Six community projects have been awarded funding to put art, culture and heritage at the heart of the major development and regeneration planned for Old Oak and Park Royal.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has awarded the first successful applicants of a new funding programme for community arts and culture projects – Small Grants: In the Making.
Delivered by OPDC, with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England as part of the Great Place Scheme, the winning projects were announced by Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor for Business and Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of OPDC.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has welcomed the reduction of the gender pay gap that has taken place since he became Mayor, at City Hall, to nearly zero – but says there is still much more work to do to tackle pay disparity across the Greater London Authority (GLA) group.
Sadiq has today published gender pay data for City Hall and organisations which make up the GLA group (Transport for London, Metropolitan Police Service, Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, London Fire Brigade, London Legacy Development Corporation and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation).
For the second year, OPDC is partnering with Open House to invite the public to explore Old Oak and Park Royal - a diverse, unique, yet little-known area of London.
Open House is a London-wide event, taking place across 21st and 22nd September, which enables the public to look behind the scenes at some of the capital’s most interesting businesses and buildings.
OPDC, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England as part of the Great Place Scheme, is working with Open House and locally based arts organisation ARTification, to prepare a programme of free activities. These will include open buildings, walking tours, canoeing, arts & crafts and exhibitions for families and people of all ages to unravel the stories of industry, film and transport in the area.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has today unveiled the winning entry of its Annual Art Commission, The Park Royals by visual artist and Harlesden-based barber Faisal Abdu’Allah.
In the form of two large jacquard woven photo-tapestries, reworked from a series of photographs of 22 residents and workers from Park Royal, the artwork intricately weaves together the lives, stories and struggles of two generations who make up the area’s industrial heart.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has today set out a revised approach to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and jobs through collaboration with major public sector landowners.
The regeneration of Old Oak, Park Royal and surrounding areas in west London, has the potential to deliver 25,500 new homes and 65,000 jobs over the next 30 years. OPDC has already approved plans for over 5,000 homes including 1,500 already completed or being built.
2018
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has today announced that Victoria Hills is standing down from her position as Chief Executive Officer.
Victoria has been Chief Executive of OPDC since June 2015 and is leaving the organisation to become Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
OPDC is the local planning authority and regeneration agency for the 650 hectare site in west London and is the second Mayoral Development Corporation in the capital, alongside the London Legacy Development Corporation.
OPDC aims to maximise the potential of one of the UK’s biggest development sites, with the capacity to deliver 25,500 new homes and 65,000 jobs.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I would like to thank Victoria for her leadership, commitment and dedication as Chief Executive of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. This is one of the most important regeneration sites in London with capacity for thousands of genuinely affordable homes.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has approved a recommendation by Liz Peace CBE, Chair of OPDC to appoint Victoria Quinlan and William Hill as new Board members of the corporation tasked with spearheading the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs at the West London site.
Victoria Quinlan is currently the Managing Director - Investment Management for Lendlease, a global property and infrastructure company listed on the Australian stock exchange with operations in Australia, Asia, America and Europe, and a global development pipeline of c£30bn. Victoria has extensive experience in Property Development, and is a well-known figure in the London planning sector.
William Hill is an experienced property investment specialist with 33 years in the industry, including 22 years as head of property at Schroders plc, a large global investment management house. He formed his own consultancy company in November 2013. He is regarded as an investment expert within the industry and frequently quoted in the national and specialist trade press for his views.
Ben joins the Corporation tasked with spearheading the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs at the West London site, from Hammerson, a FTSE100 owner, manager and developer of leading retail destinations in Europe. He has 10 years of experience across a range of public and private sector development and investment projects. During his time at Hammerson he worked in several asset management and development roles including, the £1.4bn regeneration of Croydon Town Centre and the £1.3bn Brent Cross Extension.
He has most recently been responsible for Grand Central Birmingham and its integration following its £335m acquisition. Ben is a chartered surveyor and a trustee of Cockpit Arts.
In September 2017, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) – the Mayor of London’s development corporation – designated a new neighbourhood area: the Old Oak Neighbourhood Area.
Five months later, on 9 February 2018, OPDC designated a new forum for this area: the Old Oak Neighbourhood Forum.
The designation of the Old Oak Neighbourhood Area and Forum gives local communities in west London the chance to shape the future of their neighbourhood in a tangible way, as the status allows them to now develop a Neighbourhood Plan for the designated Area. This will give communities a greater power to influence how their local surroundings in Old Oak and Park Royal – home to one of the UK’s largest regeneration sites – will develop, including how plans will affect open spaces, the emerging local centre, a section of the Grand Union Canal, as well as locally-listed buildings and conservation areas.
The area covers more than 22 hectares (55 acres) – equivalent in size to St James’s Park – including most of the existing residential neighbourhoods within the OPDC area.
On 7 March 2018, the Mayor of London announced that OPDC had secured £750,004 from the Good Growth Fund for local communities to play a role in the regeneration taking place in Old Oak and Park Royal.
Working with the local community, this funding will be used for a range of activation projects along Scrubs Lane and at Willesden Junction. These projects will improve public realm, wayfinding and legibility, promoting local businesses and creativity, improving bio-diversity and amplifying local heritage.
Sadiq Khan today said more needs to be done to get women into senior roles to address the pay gap between men and women in the capital. The Mayor of London’s comments came as he published the latest gender pay details in the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group.
The new data reveals there still is a significant gender pay gap at City Hall, Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Legacy Development Corporation.
The reason for the gender gap in the GLA Group is not due to women being paid less for doing the same job, but instead because there are not enough women in senior roles.
To continue our commitment to protect, strengthen and intensify Park Royal, OPDC appoints ‘We Made That’ as the Masterplanners for Park Royal Centre. Park Royal in west London is home to 2,000 businesses and employs more than 40,000 people. It is London's largest industrial estate with 450ha of industrial land, contributing £2.1billion in Gross Value Added to the UK economy and is where world-leading businesses from Diageo to GSK are proud to call home.
Liz Peace CBE, OPDC Chairman said:
OPDC is working hard to plan for the whole of Old Oak and Park Royal. The Centre of Park Royal is home to the incredibly important Central Middlesex Hospital and an Asda Superstore along with lots of local businesses that are all hugely important in supporting the communities, not only within the OPDC area, but also the wider communities across Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham. We have appointed a fantastic team to help us plan a bright future and we look forward to talking to local people, residents and businesses over the coming months to better understand their views.
Oliver Goodhall, Partner at We Made That said:
Park Royal Centre masterplan programme is an incredibly exciting opportunity to bring to fruition some of the crucial early moves in a bold and ambitious project, whilst also shaping its long-term trajectory for a new designated neighbourhood Centre within a unique industrial context.
Leading industry experts have been appointed by Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) to join the independent OPDC Place Review Group. The new panel member appointments follow an open invitation for applications and aim to strengthen the expertise the panel provides to OPDC as the Mayoral Development Corporation continue to deliver the UK’s largest regeneration project.
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of OPDC said:
ODPC has set ambitious design standards for development in its area in our Draft Local Plan, and the Place Review Group provides independent expert advice to support OPDC in achieving these aims. We are delighted that Frame have come on board and refreshed the panel, as this group of experts will advise on all aspects of design quality, and ensure new development strengthens and enhances the quality of new and existing places across Old Oak and Park Royal.
Peter Bishop, Chair of the OPDC Place Review Group said:
Old Oak Common will be the most important new development opportunity in London since the Olympics at Stratford. Situated on the interchange between Crossrail and High Speed 2, with proximity to central London and Heathrow, its potential is enormous. But this area has huge design challenges. The role of the panel will be to assist the OPDC to design an exemplary new piece of London, a place that builds on its history and its existing communities to be a location of choice for people to work, live and visit. Old Oak Common should aspire to be the next London paradigm that sets the standards for the future.
On Wednesday 7 November, prominent business and public-sector leaders will come together in Birmingham for the HS2 Economic Growth Conference supported by HS2 Ltd – the largest business conference of the year focused on driving and unlocking the huge economic growth opportunities which HS2 will bring to the UK.
The conference, hosted by Built Environment Networking, will see some of the biggest names in business, politics and local government lead regional hub discussions on the challenges which need tackling and the phenomenal opportunities to create homes, jobs and economic growth through each HS2 hub. The conference, which will also include presentations on the future vision and development opportunities in each region, represents an incredible opportunity for all sectors of the built environment and construction industry to collaborate and communicate to align on the key issues and opportunities for economic development and growth in each region.
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) – set up by the Mayor of London in 2015 to maximise development opportunities – said:
This conference shines an important light on the route-wide impact of the HS2 development, which is going to connect the UK and bring economic benefits to the whole country. Old Oak and Park Royal is an area that is just crying out for regeneration but without HS2 it would have taken an awfully long time. Royal Assent for the HS2 Hybrid Bill has shown everybody that this project is really going to happen and that Old Oak/Park Royal – and all the other areas touched by this project – now have the certainty and momentum they need to get on with the vital task of creating new jobs, commercial space, homes and vibrant, exciting communities.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) have today opened its doors to some of the fascinating buildings and businesses for Open House weekend to uncover the heritage and culture at the heart of this unique, yet little-known area in west London.
The programme designed by OPDC and Open House working with local businesses is an invitation to visitors to find out more about sites of interest, key landmarks and the industrial heritage of what could be argued to be London’s best kept secret in zones 2 and 3.
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, said:
I am delighted to be a keynote speaker at the launch of Open House London - the world’s largest architecture festival, giving free public access to hundreds of buildings, walks, talks and tours over one weekend in September each year. I am equally pleased that we are able to offer some of the unique places in Park Royal as participants in this festival. This has been made possible by the generous injection of funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Art’s Council England who are supporting OPDC in a three-year programme that uses arts and heritage-based activities, including this collaboration for Open House weekend, to uncover and showcase the fascinating but little-known history of Park Royal. It is through programmes and partnerships like these that local residents and businesses can be genuinely involved in shaping the future regeneration of Old Oak - but also ensuring that its exciting past is not forgotten.
A new Community Review Group has been formed to represent local people when deciding planning outcomes in Old Oak and Park Royal.
The initiative, that empowers locals to have their say on the design of the area, is part the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation’s (OPDC) plan to ensure that new developments serves local needs both now and in the future. The group will review development proposals from the perspective of those living, working and spending time in the area and the outcome of these discussions will influence planning decisions.
The OPDC Community Review Group has been selected to reflect the diverse community that makes up Old Oak, Park Royal and its immediate surroundings. The twelve members either live or work nearby and span multiple generations, the youngest member being twenty-one years old. In return for valuable local knowledge members will gain skills in reviewing planning proposals, learn about their area and take an active role in creating change.
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, said:
Insights from the community are extremely important to ensure the benefits from the investment in area meets the needs of those who live and work there. It is thrilling to see the interest in the development and regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal from local people who are invested in positive change. We hope that the Community Review Group will help strengthen OPDC’s existing relationships with local people.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has appointed nine leading industry experts to join the Board and Planning Committee that is responsible for governing the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). The decision was made in response to a recommendation by the Mayor’s office and Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of OPDC, following an open recruitment process.
New members will take a leading role in helping OPDC to deliver tens of thousands of new homes and jobs in West London. The appointments aim to strengthen the expertise the existing Board and Committee provides to the Mayoral Development Corporation as it continues to deliver the UK’s largest regeneration project.
Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor, Planning, Regeneration and Skills, said:
Old Oak and Park Royal has capacity to deliver tens of thousands of new genuinely affordable homes and jobs – so I am delighted to welcome these new Board and Planning Committee members as we work to create a brand new, vibrant part of the city.
Liz Peace, Chairman of OPDC, said:
Old Oak and Park Royal is one of the most important regeneration projects in London and is set to be the largest new development in the capital since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. I look forward to working with the new Board members and to leveraging their wealth of experience and expertise to secure the best possible scheme.
2017
Interview date: Friday 10 February 2017
Application closing date: Tuesday 17 January 2017
Old Oak and Park Royal is one of the most important regeneration projects in London. The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) was established to secure the maximum benefits from the newly planned transport interchanges of High Speed 2, Crossrail and London Overground stations, to deliver the much-needed homes and jobs in what will be one of the largest regeneration projects London has seen for decades.
The OPDC Board is responsible for promoting and delivering physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration at Old Oak and Park Royal, through high-quality sustainable development and investment for the benefit of the area and the communities that surround it. It will plan for significant future growth at Old Oak; and for the protection and regeneration of the industrial areas of Park Royal.
Following a review of the OPDC, which reported in Autumn 2016, the Mayor of London is now looking to appoint a new Chair to ensure that the Development Corporation delivers the best deal for Londoners.
Old Oak and Park Royal has been chosen as one of 16 ‘Great Places’.
Old Oak and Park Royal has been awarded a grant of £1,489,255 from Arts Council England and Heritage Lottery Fund’s Great Place Scheme to ensure that art, culture and heritage are at the heart of the major developments planned for the area.
The money will support Made in Park Royal, an ambitious and community-focused project from Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Plans for the three-year project include working directly with a pool of 2,000 local volunteers, an engagement programme designed to reach all school children in the area, and community-led research into local heritage.
Read the full press release and more about the wider project.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced his intention to appoint Liz Peace CBE as the new Chair of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation – tasking her with spearheading the delivery of tens of thousands of new homes and jobs at the West London site.
Liz Peace has more than 35 years’ experience in government and the property sector. She was Chief Executive of the British Property Federation and has also been Honorary President of the Property Litigation Association, Chair of the Centre for London think tank and Chair of the Shadow Government Property Agency. Her appointment is subject to a confirmation hearing before the London Assembly.
- August 2017: HS2 announce the search has started for the superhub station construction team
- July 2017: HS2 issue the Old Oak Main Civils work contracts and Station Design shortlist
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of OPDC, said:
I welcome the progress being made by HS2. The largest sub-surface station ever to be built in the UK and the future transport super-hub is the catalyst for regeneration at Old Oak and Park Royal. This announcement is another significant milestone towards this.
Victoria Hills, CEO of OPDC, said:
These are significant milestones towards unlocking the potential of Old Oak and Park Royal, which will become the gateway to the Midlands and the North. These important contracts will not only create jobs, but provide a clear signal that London is very much open for business!
The OPDC Board approved the designation of the Old Oak Neighbourhood Area on 12 September 2017.
This decision will give our local community greater power to influence how the local area will develop. It will mean that people in the Neighbourhood Area can influence things such as: how plans will affect open spaces, the emerging local centre and a section of the Grand Union Canal, as well as locally-listed buildings and conservation areas.
OPDC Chairman and Chief Executive share their views on the decision:
Liz Peace CBE, Chairman of OPDC said:
It's important that we continue to put the local community right at the heart of the future regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal and this decision cements our commitment to that ambition.
Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of OPDC said:
I'm delighted that OPDC has its second Neighbourhood Area. It's heartening that local residents are so well organised and care passionately about their community; we look forward to many continued years of collaboration.
Old Oak and Park Royal development: 'If you imagine it's the 2012 Olympics we're at the 2003 stage'.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation CEO explains the steps that need to be taken before key construction gets under way.
Plans for the UK's biggest regeneration project have been under way since 2015 but with its masterplan not yet published, central development at the site is still a long way off.
The Mayor of London’s development corporation, OPDC, is in charge of overseeing the redevelopment which promises to bring with it 25,500 new homes and 65,000 new jobs.
Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of OPDC said:
Obviously for a site this large and complicated there’s a lot of work to be done so nothing’s been published yet. We're working on phase one of the masterplan at the moment and I think we’ll be in a position to publish something in spring next year.
James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, and Liz Peace CBE, OPDC Chairman, joined Queens Park Rangers and Genesis Housing Association to begin the demolition of a derelict hostel that will make way for 605 new homes, including a high proportion (40%) of affordable homes for Londoners.
The Oaklands development will be the first homes to be built at Old Oak and Park Royal and will start the transformation of the area to deliver 25,500 new homes and 65,00 new jobs.
James Murray, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development said:
The regeneration of Old Oak and the surrounding area represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver thousands of genuinely affordable homes for Londoners.
I am delighted that work has commenced on this important scheme and pleased that we have been able to work so closely with QPR and Genesis Housing Association to increase the proportion of affordable homes.
Liz Peace CBE, OPDC Chairman said:
Today’s ground-breaking marks the start of early-delivery of hundreds of affordable homes for Londoners and the community in west London.
I am delighted to kick-start the wider regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal in line with Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan’s priorities.
This first major scheme granted consent by OPDC and the Mayor paves the way to creating a place where people will want to live, work, spend their leisure time and bring up their families.
2016
Sadiq Khan today hit out at the 'unacceptable' pay gap between men and women as he published full gender pay details of all organisations in the Greater London Authority (GLA) family – including Transport for London, the Metropolitan Police and the London Fire Brigade.
Earlier this year, the Mayor honoured a manifesto pledge by publishing gender pay data for all staff at City Hall and today he reiterated his call to all employers to close the pay gap for women after widening publication to include the GLA's 'functional bodies'.
The Mayor said: "Clearly we all need to do much more to put our own houses in order. I am determined to lead by example." He is asking all GLA group organisations to publish action plans to address the pay gap.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today revealed that the plans to regenerate Old Oak in West London were left in ‘a mess’ by his predecessor as he announced the findings of his review of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Sadiq Khan today gave his full backing for the regeneration of Old Oak, but called on Government to reduce the financial burden that the plans will place on Londoners.
The Mayor criticised his predecessor, Boris Johnson, for 'rushing headlong' into an agreement with Government to transfer land at Old Oak that was made on unfavourable terms compared to other major regeneration schemes in the country.
A new High Speed 2 (HS2) and Crossrail Station is due to be constructed at Old Oak Common by 2026. OPDC was established in April 2015 to oversee development for the wider area and has full planning powers within its 650 hectare boundary that includes land in the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Ealing and Brent.
Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), the second Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), was launched on 1 April 2015 to secure the benefits of the regeneration and development of Old Oak and Park Royal.
In late June the Mayor of London commissioned1 the Greater London Authority (GLA) to undertake a review of the strategic direction and work programme of the OPDC. This was in the context of the Mayor recognising the importance of the regeneration project to London, but also his concern to ensure the fundamentals were in place to get the best deal for Londoners and create a thriving new area of London. In particular, the Mayor wished to understand the implications of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed between the OPDC and the Secretary of State for Transport for the transfer of Government-owned land at Old Oak Common.
The document reports the high-level findings and key recommendations arising from the review.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has approved plans for the first major housing development at the Old Oak regeneration site in West London, after intervening to boost the number of affordable homes in the scheme.
The Oaklands development will see 605 new homes built, together with a nursery, health centre and commercial space. A target of 50 per cent affordable housing has been agreed for the development, following an intervention by the Mayor to boost the number of affordable homes through investment and a profit-sharing mechanism.
Old Oak and Park Royal has the potential to deliver 25,500 new homes and 65,000 jobs over the next 30 to 40 years, as well as becoming the key transport interchange for Crossrail and HS2.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “The development marks a significant step in realising the huge potential of this part of the capital".
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has welcomed big wins for the capital announced in the Chancellor's budget today (16 March 2016), including:
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plans for funding the development of Crossrail 2
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devolution of business rates
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land transfer at Old Oak Common to drive the growth of the 'Stratford of the West'
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an increased focus on addressing rough sleeping, building on the success of the No Second Night Out initiative.
Londoners can now have their say on plans to create a brand new part of the capital at Old Oak and Park Royal.
Old Oak is set to become home to a world-class High Speed 2 (HS2) and Crossrail Station by 2026. It will be one of the largest new stations built in the UK, handling 250,000 passengers a day.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson believes this could act as a springboard to deliver 25,500 new homes and up to 65,000 jobs at both Old Oak and the adjoining Park Royal industrial estate.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is today launching a new initiative that aims to strengthen London’s largest industrial estate and support its future competitiveness.
Park Royal in West London is home to 2,000 businesses and employs more than 30,000 people. It is home to successful UK brands including Carphone Warehouse and Diageo as well as hundreds of small independent businesses which play a vital role in supporting London’s economy.
2015
A planning framework which will deliver more than 25,500 new homes and create up to 65,000 jobs at Old Oak and Park Royal has been approved and adopted by the Mayor of London.
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has teamed up with an organisation that promotes technological innovation to ensure that all future development at the UK’s largest regeneration site embrace the latest high-tech innovations.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today urged more young people to choose a career in construction, as he joined forces with Lloyds Banking Group to launch the £1 million Construction Skills fund to help provide London homebuilders with the improved training they say the industry needs.
The OPDC has appointed Design Council Cabe to a key new role that will aim to ensure all new developments on the largest regeneration site in London meet the very highest of design standards.
With an IEP depot, a Crossrail depot, a planned HS2 station and London Overground stations, Old Oak Common could soon be the most important rail centre in London.
Railway infrastructure and stations are increasingly recognised as a catalyst for development and enhanced community facilities; you need look no further than the planning for Nine Elms and Barking Riverside as examples of this in the capital.
However there are challenges around how the next wave of investment will be spent in order to best utilise rail as a driver of regeneration.
Victoria drew proceedings together by emphasising the Capital’s need for regeneration like at Old Oak Common which has the X factor of being the only interchange between Crossrail and HS2. She drew attention to the fact that government’s top problem used to be transport, now it’s housing, as reflected in the mayoral candidates proposals.
Victoria Hills has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Old Oak Common in West London is one of the largest regeneration opportunities in Europe, with a High Speed 2 (HS2) and Crossrail Station due to be constructed by 2026.
The OPDC was launched by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson in April to maximise the regeneration potential of the new stations and deliver up to 24,000 homes and more than 55,000 jobs.
Victoria Hills is a chartered planner and a former head of transport at the Greater London Authority. She has been instrumental in the establishment of the OPDC, first as Director and then, since April as Interim Chief Executive.
In her new role, she will deliver the Mayor’s vision for regeneration in the area which has the potential to deliver a £15bn boost to London’s economy over the next 15 years.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “Old Oak Common can be as important to West London as the Olympics have been for East London, driving social and economic regeneration on an almost unparalleled scale. I am delighted to be able to appoint someone of the calibre and experience of Victoria Hills to drive forward this once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
Victoria Hills said: “I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to secure the best possible outcomes from the significant transport investment that Old Oak and Park Royal will benefit from. This is a career defining opportunity for me to deploy my transport and planning expertise to showcase the very best London can offer in exemplar place making.”
The new station will be the size of Waterloo, handling 250,000 passengers a day and acting as a super hub between London and the rest of the UK, Europe and the world. The Corporation will act as a single, transparent and robust body to spearhead the regeneration of the site that straddles the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent and Ealing.
The OPDC will look to emulate the success of the London Legacy Development Corporation that continues to lead the post-Olympic regeneration of Stratford and East London. The Mayor’s Office believes that the regeneration opportunity could provide almost 14 per cent of Greater London’s employment needs up to 2031.
It has the support of Government and full planning powers across the entire site straddling the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Brent and Ealing.
As well as promoting and delivering physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration at Old Oak Common, the Corporation will also safeguard and develop Park Royal as a strategic industrial location and attract long-term investment to the area, including from overseas.
The OPDC is chaired by Deputy Mayor for Planning Sir Edward Lister and has various statutory powers relating to infrastructure, regeneration and land acquisitions.
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