OPDC’s Chair discusses The Transformation of Old Oak

The concept of creating good places through connectivity is nothing new. Connecting people to and through a place is universally accepted as a key strand of creating or regenerating successful communities. It’s the cornerstone of well thought out urban planning and an attribute every new development, no matter how big or small, should aim for from its outset.

A place that is well connected is more likely to stand the test of time, generating its own, self-sustaining economy by attracting people to live, work and visit. Good transport links create ease of movement to, from and within, whilst careful master planning provides for walkability or cycling, between homes, facilities and open space.

There is no better example of placemaking potential to be created through brilliant transport connections than that provided by Old Oak Common. The connectivity brought about by the new HS2 station, combined with a new Crossrail platform and the other transport infrastructure that already criss-crosses the area, will be unrivalled.

When the Old Oak Common HS2 Station opens in 2028, it will transform a currently under-utilised and deprived area of London into an entrance to the capital and a gateway to the UK and the world. It will also be the largest interchange station built since Waterloo – that’s over a century ago – with 250,000 people expected to pass through it every day.

This nationally important piece of transport infrastructure will directly connect to eight out of ten of Britain’s largest cities – approximately half the UK’s population. The arrival of HS2, with its connection to Crossrail and the Great Western Mainline at Old Oak Common, as well as its proximity to Heathrow Airport, will alter perceptions of distance and commuting, leading to new economic and social opportunities and public benefits unseen for decades.

The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is tasked by the Mayor of London to capitalise on this truly incredible asset by creating a whole new district for west London. The need for regeneration at Old Oak is not only about responding to a national housing crisis – although with an aspiration to deliver up to 25,000 new homes, a large percentage of those being affordable, it will go some way to helping meet that need. It’s about creating a legacy location for London and the rest of the UK that provides significant employment, enhances quality of life and creates opportunity through a holistic placemaking approach.

Now, more so than ever following the COVID-19 pandemic, regenerating Old Oak and Park Royal is needed in order to maximise the investment of HS2 by creating public benefits through homes and jobs. In doing this we believe we can strengthen the UK’s economy by some £7bn every year.

We’re developing exciting plans that will capitalise on the new station and the public sector land available for major redevelopment, much of which is owned by Department for Transport and Network Rail; organisations defined by connectivity. Effectively stewarding the Government-owned sites that sit at heart of Old Oak offers tremendous scope to achieve a large, exciting and genuinely integrated new community in the heart of west London, which will be a leading example in how to harness connectivity and publicly owned assets to create new homes, jobs and public benefit.

We will not be able to realise these aspirations overnight: creating a new place takes years of careful planning. If you look at the highly successful regeneration of King’s Cross, also catalysed by a major transport hub, it has been decades in the making and still has a number of years to run before its transformation is complete.

With the notice to proceed for HS2 having now been issued, and notwithstanding the constraints on our people due to the current COVID-19 crisis, we are working hard to put together the outline of a new masterplan that will form the basis for extensive local engagement and for seeking long term investment funding. It is only through this careful and thoughtful planning and engagement that we will be able to ensure that the huge investment in transport infrastructure that the Government is making leads to an outstanding new location of which Londoners can be proud.

As a Mayoral Development Corporation, OPDC is perfectly placed to work with local and national government, as well as partners HS2 and Network Rail, in order to harness the unique attributes of the Old Oak Common Station and other infrastructure, not only to deliver homes and jobs, but to create a place that stands the test of time, enables social and economic opportunity and forms a new part of Britain’s future.

Read the publication in full here