Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) explains more…
Last week, I was delighted when the Mayor signed off the OPDC’s planning framework. After months of consultation, it means we can now go full steam ahead on this groundbreaking scheme.
I must start by saying that Old Oak and Park Royal is the most exciting regeneration site in London. Just above Ealing and below Wembley, it has the potential to create more than 25,500 new homes and 65,000 jobs. That’s around 14% of the capital’s employment needs up to 2031. Early indications are that it could bring £7 billion a year to the UK economy.
To give you some idea of its scale, Old Oak and Park Royal is the biggest regeneration project in the UK. This is a huge 155 hectare brownfield site, equivalent in size to 250 football pitches.
Now you’ve got an idea of the topline figures, I want to delve into a little more detail. One of the reasons we chose the site is its unique nature. Park Royal is the UK’s largest industrial park. Our support will protect and boost Park Royal with 10,000 new jobs, better workplaces and fresh investment. We’ll also build 1,500 homes within the site.
At Old Oak, we’ll create a new urban neighbourhood, with at least 24,000 new homes. By 2026, Old Oak Common will be a major new railway station nearly the size of Waterloo. It will be the only place in London where HS2 and Crossrail meet. This new super-hub will connect London to the rest of the UK and with some 250,000 passengers a day expected to pass through. Birmingham will be under 40 minutes away, the West End ten, Heathrow just eight.
Amidst all this new development, we’ll be ensuring that local green spaces like Wormwood Scrubs and the Grand Union Canal are protected. In fact, we want to sensitively improve these amenities so that they can be enjoyed by more people.
We’re also going to be working closely with local boroughs, communities, residents and businesses, so that everyone feels part of this amazing project. Our aim is for Old Oak and Park Royal to become a thriving new district in London. Somewhere people will aspire to live, work and play in, and a place people will return to visit, time and time again.
Take a look at our boundary map to see the area we're responsible for.