Construction Enquirer: "Galliford Try kicks-off London regen zone with £175m project"

"Galliford Try is understood to have secured the first major scheme at London’s vast Old Oak Common regeneration zone."

Link to web site

"Development partners Genesis Housing Association and Queens Park Rangers Football Club plan to build 605 new homes on part of the vast new regeneration site in a development to be known as Oaklands.

"London's Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation approved the £175m mixed-use scheme last month.

"Galliford Try's Partnership arm is expected to start work at the beginning of 2017. Several existing buildings will be demolished to make way for three major blocks rising in height from around 10 to 26 floors."

Evening Standard: "White City: how Soho House, the BBC and the London creatives are helping W12 get its mojo back"

"Westfield is expanding, the BBC building is being transformed, and Soho House is moving in — W12 is staking its claim as London’s latest hotspot. Nick Curtis on why the future looks best out west"

Link to web site

"From the top of BBC TV Centre's East Tower in White City — the building where Blue Peter and Play School were made — you can see the future of London. The buildings below, once a monocultural fortress for Auntie Beeb, will soon become a mini-metropolis of 950 apartments, a new club and 50-room hotel from Soho House (complete with rooftop pool), as well as three refurbished TV studios and offices for BBC Worldwide and 300,000 [sic] other 'creatives'.

Further north are the modern offices of BBC Digital, and beyond them Old Oak Common, itself set to become a mini-city once Crossrail arrives. The world's largest 'co-living' space, The Collective, opened there in May, offering 551 minimal, serviced living spaces around shared communal areas as an alternative to traditional rental models.

On the other side of Wood Lane, the mind-bogglingly vast, 25-acre, £3 billion new campus where Imperial College plans to 'invent the future through science and engineering and medicine' — as Professor David Gann, Vice President (Innovation) puts it — stretches north beyond the A40. To the east, the new phase of Westfield shopping centre — already one of the top five tourist destinations in London, with 28 million visitors a year — is under construction, and a site occupied by M&S warehouses is to become 1,480 new homes by developer St James."

[That's enough gushing. Ed.]

The Observer: "The death of neoliberalism and the crisis in western politics"

"In the early 1980s the author was one of the first to herald the emerging dominance of neoliberalism in the west. Here he argues that this doctrine is now faltering. But what happens next?"

Link to web site

"The western financial crisis of 2007-8 was the worst since 1931, yet its immediate repercussions were surprisingly modest. The crisis challenged the foundation stones of the long-dominant neoliberal ideology but it seemed to emerge largely unscathed. The banks were bailed out; hardly any bankers on either side of the Atlantic were prosecuted for their crimes; and the price of their behaviour was duly paid by the taxpayer.

"Subsequent economic policy, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world, has relied overwhelmingly on monetary policy, especially quantitative easing. It has failed. The western economy has stagnated and is now approaching its lost decade, with no end in sight.

"After almost nine years, we are finally beginning to reap the political whirlwind of the financial crisis. But how did neoliberalism manage to survive virtually unscathed for so long? Although it failed the test of the real world, bequeathing the worst economic disaster for seven decades, politically and intellectually it remained the only show in town. Parties of the right, centre and left ... all bought into its philosophy."

The Guardian: "A new New York? Manhattan's oldest neighbourhood goes car-free, kind of …"

"Cars restricted to 5mph over 60 blocks of Financial District at weekend, as transport department runs Shared Streets event inspired by Bogotá and Paris"

Link to web site

"A shadow is cast long upon New York by the ghost of Robert Moses, the titan 'master builder' of 20th century whose almost unrivalled power to chart his vision of urban renewal fostered the car-dominant and public transport-starved metropolis that is, for better or worse, one of Gotham’s most enduring legacies.

"But pedestrianism among advocates and urban planners in the new, young century has been on the ascent in global cities far and wide, with many pushing for more restrictions on cars in the interests of bipeds and cyclists.

"That was part of thinking behind the Shared Streets initiative, a five-hour long event over the weekend. It saw the city demarcate some 60 blocks of Manhattan's oldest neighbourhood as part of an urban geographical experiment meant to alter the often-fractious dynamic between motorists and pedestrians that is the unwritten law of the concrete jungle."

Evening Standard: "First look inside Crossrail train ahead of launch"

Link to web site

"These are the first images of a new Elizabeth line train ahead of the launch of the £14 billion Crossrail project next May.

"It is the first in a fleet of 66 air-conditioned trains, which will operate on the Elizabeth line, linking Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in south-east London to Heathrow and Reading, via Canary Wharf and Oxford Street.

"Transport for London commissioner Mike Brown was today driving the train on Bombardier Transportation's test track in Derby. He said the trains, to be introduced in stages, were 'a showcase for British design and manufacture'.

"The new ‘Class 345’ trains will enter service when the first section of the line, which will be known as Crossrail, opens next May between Liverpool Street and Shenfield in Essex. It is believed the final interiors may differ in design to the first look seen today."

Bombardier: Building Crossrail trains in Derby

GetWestLondon: "QPR dealt new ground blow as landowner says: 'We will never agree to a stadium'"

Link to web site

"Queens Park Rangers has been accused of misleading its fans with inaccurate statements over the future building of a new stadium.

"Cargiant, which owns land that the Championship side want to build its new ground on, has published a letter criticising the actions of the club. It says it wants to put the record straight over the proposals so supporters are aware of the actual situation.

"The decision taken this month to publish a letter, which was written in March to fans by Cargiant managing director Tony Mendes and Geoff Springer from development partner London & Regional Properties (L&R), was taken after QPR was given the go-ahead to build 605 new homes on the nearby Oaklands site with Genesis Housing Trust."

CNN: "London housing crisis extends to the water"

Link to web site

"When it comes to the unwanted title of world's most expensive city for housing, London vies with Monaco and Hong Kong.

"The average house price in the English capital is now nearly £600,000 ($787,000), and a study from the charity Shelter found just 43 properties affordable to people on an average income. Several of these properties were houseboats.

"Life on London's 100-mile network of canals, or 42-mile stretch of the River Thames, has become a popular option for beleaguered citizens, and such homes can cost as little as £20,000 ($26,500). But as more people swap apartments for houseboats, the popular, romantic vision is giving way to a harsh reality."

Cargiant's Old Oak Park: The Movie (Ooh, there's the Science Museum!)

Cargiant: Old Oak Park consultation, July 2016

Link to Evening Standard

Evening Standard: "QPR housing development victory raises hope for new stadium" (Oh no it doesn't)

Link to web site

"Queens Park Rangers were last night given the green light to build 605 new homes in west London.

"The Championship football club hopes the £175 million development project for Old Oak Common is the first step towards building a new stadium on the site.

"The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation — set up to lead the regeneration of Old Oak — gave the club and its development partner Genesis Housing Association the go-ahead for “Oaklands” at a City Hall meeting."

"Crossrail design line: stations, art and public space on the Elizabeth line" (Shame about the commentary)

Could there be another Mayoral Development Corporation?

[Reposted] Thu 21 and Sat 23 April 2016: Aurora Developments: North Kensington / South Harlesden Gate: 25-storey residential tower

"PSP-FARMAN Holding [ultimate owner of Guernsey-based Aurora Developments Ltd.] was founded in 1997 due to the merger of two investment and building structures:

• PSP, one of the first Russian commercial construction companies, operating since 1987
• FARMAN ENGINIRING Europian company, operating in the Russian market since 1991.

"Today, PSP-FARMAN Holding is a multifunctional construction organization with well-organized structure of subdivisions, which applies the most advanced forms of management and production at all stages of project implementation:

• Turning ideas into business projects, accomplishing prior calculations and obtaining necessary approvals.
• Negotiating with financial institutions in order to attract funding.
• Provision of a full range of design works with own Design Department, passing the state examination and issuance of documentation.
• Performing a package of design work applying to the objects of historical and cultural heritage.
• Highly accurate 3D laser scanning of buildings.
• Serving as a general contractor of construction, installation and finishing works with own production capacity.
• Restoration works.
• Serving as a technical customer.
• Advanced engineering equipment and finishing materials purchase from around the world, delivery and temporary storage.
• Own Aluminum Structures Department.
• Own production of wooden, plastic and artificial stone interior elements.
• Managing the whole process of project implementation with BEXEL (5D) software which lets consolidate and monitor the work of all services and be transparent to the customers.

"PSP-FARMAN Holding Group is a team of experienced specialists from Russia, Serbia, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Israel.

"The total number of completed projects of the Holding is more than 200 objects including banks, office, public and residential buildings, commercial and industrial centres, sports centres and transport infrastructure, that occupies a total area of over 1.5 million square meters.

"PSP-FARMAN Holding is among the major real estate developer of Moscow and Russia. There are Holding’s offices in Moscow, Kiev, Belgrade, Brussels, Geneva and Trieste."

Presidents' message

"PSP-FARMAN Holding includes several Russian and European enterprises with their unique knowledge, experience and reputations.

"We have made up our minds to become a leader in construction operations in the real estate market since our first day, and we have been proving our leadership for 20 years now. Having created flexible and universal infrastructure in order to control and optimize all stages of our business process, we are eager to face challenging projects, working out the most creative ways to realize them.

"High professionalism and responsibility of our staff, absolute transparency in relations with our partners and unconditional fulfillment of all our obligations allow us to construct office and industry buildings for internationally famous companies; hotels and shopping centers operated by leading chains; modern sport facilities certified by international associations and many other projects.

"We are especially proud of the fact that we have long-term relationships on a friendly basis with the majority of our clients and partners.

"Nowadays, PSP-FARMAN is a company that is able to meet the most difficult and challenging tasks."

North Kensington Gate - Exhibition Newsletter

The densities of the two sites are: 

• 513 units per hectare on the south site
• 462 units per hectare on the north.

There are 183 units in total.

(The top range figure in the London Plan for ‘central’ areas is 405 units per hectare and 600 in ‘exceptional' cases.)

This is the scoping document of the main, southern site:

NKG_South_Scoping_Report_Feb_16_V4_FINAL.pdf

Link to development web site

Reuters: "Serb tycoon jailed for five years for aiding tax evasion"

Link to web site

"One of the Balkans' richest men was sentenced to five years in prison for aiding tax evasion in a landmark trial the Serbian government said would shed more light on links between businessmen and politicians dating from the 1990s.

"Miroslav Miskovic, who created an insurance, retail and real estate empire during the collapse of Yugoslavia and Serbia's subsequent emergence from international isolation, was arrested in 2012 on charges of fraud and tax evasion.

"... His Delta Holding company employs more than 4,000 people and in 2015 had a turnover of 53 billion dinars (334.84 million pound)."

[Reposted] Aurora Developments Limited [Guernsey company 58085, listed for strike-off in 2015 under Companies (Guernsey) Law 2008 Section 234/235]: Proposals for South Harlesden Gate, Scrubs Lane, helped by Cascade Communications

"Aurora Developments Ltd. [PO Box 635, Ground Floor, St Martins House, Le Bordage, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3DS] are bringing forward proposals to develop land located on Scrubs Lane inside the eastern boundary of the Old Oak and Park Royal development opportunity area, adjacent to Saint Mary's Catholic cemetery.

"The proposals, which we have named North Kensington Gate comprise two sites, and will be some of the earliest to come forward in the new opportunity area.

"We are excited [sic] to be bringing forward proposals for these sites and are aware of the general level of interest surrounding development in the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) area. We want to introduce the project team and to present our proposals for the two sites [at 93-97A, 99-101 Scrubs Lane and 115-129A Scrubs Lane].

"We are working with OPDC to ensure that our plans for North Kensington Gate works within the OPDC's Local Plan framework and guidelines for the wider Old Oak and Park Royal area and helps to deliver the Mayor's vision for 25,500 new homes and 65,000 new jobs.

"During the pre-application process, our development team have met regularly with planning and design officers at the OPDC in order to help design a scheme for the sites which meets their aspirations to deliver the highest quality architecture in the opportunity area. We have now developed our plans to a stage at which we feel confident in presenting them to key stakeholders in advance of our wider public consultation. In order to arrange a meeting with the team, please contact Alex at Cascade Communications, who is assisting us with our stakeholder and community engagement, on 020 7871 3565 or by email consultation@cascadepr.co.uk.

Nebojsa Crnobrnja (Aurora Developments Ltd.)

---

16/0016/SCROPDC
North Kensington Gate North, 93-97A and 99-101 Scrubs Lane, London, NW10

TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING (ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT) REGULATIONS 2011 (AS AMENDED) - REGULATION 5: REQUEST FOR A SCREENING OPINION
Delta Holding (‘the Applicant’) intends to submit a full application for the redevelopment of 93-97A and 99- 101 Scrubs Lane (the ‘site’) to provide a new residential-led development. We write to request a Screening Opinion on behalf of the Applicant in accordance with Regulation 5(1) of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 (as amended 2015) (the ’EIA Regulations’).

It is our view that the proposed development does not constitute a statutory EIA development. This is due to the size and scale of development when compared to the guidance EIA thresholds set out by the EIA regulations. To support this conclusion, and in accordance with Regulation 5(2) we enclose:

• A plan sufficient to identify the site (attached);
• A description of the existing site and its setting (see part a); and
• A brief description of the nature and purpose of the development (see part b) and of its possible effects on the environment (see part d).

16/0017/SCOOPDC
North Kensington Gate South, 115-129A Scrubs Lane, London, NW10

"Amec Foster Wheeler Environment & Infrastructure UK Limited (Amec Foster Wheeler) and Quod have been commissioned by Aurora Developments Limited to produce a Scoping Report for a proposed development at 115-129A Scrubs Lane, located within the Old Oak Common Opportunity Area (OOCOA), London, NW10 6QU. The Aurora Property Group wishes to construct a group of residential led mixed-use buildings of the highest quality and design which would act as a gateway to the new Opportunity Area. It is intended that the proposed development would provide an early and significant contribution to the 24,000 new homes which are anticipated within the OOCOA over the next 20 years and, specifically, the 8,600 new homes expected before 2026. The development can be delivered without the need for major infrastructure and, therefore, it can help to kick-start the investment in the OOCOA and provide early contributions towards key infrastructure and the specific need for affordable housing.

"This report has been produced to meet with the requirements of Regulation 13 of the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 (as amended 2015), which allows an applicant to request a scoping opinion from the Regulatory Authority/ies (in this case the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) with respect to the environmental information that needs to be provided within an Environmental Statement (ES).

"This report provides locational and design information on the proposed development, presents a summary of baseline environmental information that has been gathered to date, for the proposed development area and the wider surrounding area and allows consideration of the likely significant environmental effects of the proposed development. The report goes on to propose which environmental topics should be assessed within any future ES and which environmental topics it is considered can be scoped out from any future assessment."

Bing Maps

Evening Standard: "Old Oak Common: £10 billion plan for ‘Canary Wharf of West’ to be reviewed by City Hall"

Link to web site

"A review of the £10 billion redevelopment of 'the Canary Wharf of the West' has been ordered amid concerns that it could fall short on delivering affordable housing for the capital.

"Sadiq Khan has appointed a senior 'director level' official at the Greater London Authority to head a two-month evaluation of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation.

"The corporation was created last year by previous mayor Boris Johnson to oversee the transformation of the sprawling railway lands and industrial estates at Old Oak Common."

Live from City Hall: The Model

(Until the end of the week)

OPDC: "We'll be creating good urban environments with great streets to connect the surrounding areas" (apparently)

The Guardian: "Superblocks to the rescue: Barcelona’s plan to give streets back to residents"

"The Catalan capital's radical new strategy will restrict traffic to a number of big roads, drastically reducing pollution and turning secondary streets into 'citizen spaces' for culture, leisure and the community"

Link to web site

"In the latest attempt from a big city to move away from car hegemony, Barcelona has ambitious plans. Currently faced with excessive pollution and noise levels, the city has come up with a new mobility plan to reduce traffic by 21%. And it comes with something extra: freeing up nearly 60% of streets currently used by cars to turn them into so-called 'citizen spaces'.

"The plan is based around the idea of superilles (superblocks) – mini neighbourhoods around which traffic will flow, and in which spaces will be repurposed to 'fill our city with life', as its tagline says.

This plan will start in the famous gridded neighbourhood of Eixample. That revolutionary design, engineered by Ildefons Cerdà in the late 19th century, had at its core the idea that the city should breathe and – for both ideological and public health reasons – planned for the population to be spread out equally, as well as providing green spaces within each block.

"Reality and urban development have, however, got the best of it, and as the grid lines became choked with cars, the city’s pollution and noise levels have skyrocketed. What was once a design to make Barcelona healthier, now has to be dramatically rethought for the same reasons."